John Wilbert &Rabindranath Biswas
Diglipur, Dec 12: The Andaman and Nicobar Administration’s plans to build a Dam over the Kalpong River at Khudirampur, has potential to solve the issue of water crisis in the entire Diglipur region. Sadly the plan is now atleast seven years old and still the project is yet to see the light of the day.
According to sources, the Administration has once again come out with a fool-proof plan for constructing a Dam over the Kalpong River at Khudirampur village, Diglipur. The aim of the proposed Dam is to conserve water resources for sustainable use and benefit for the villagers and farmers of Diglipur region. The A & N Administration instituted a proposal in this regard and subsequently it passed the project. The Administration has also sought the detailed investigation report of the project from the concerned Dept.
When contacted, a Senior Official of the APWD, Diglipur told Andaman Sheekha that
it is true that, during the peak summer season, people of Diglipur face the problem of water scarcity. In view of the ever increasing population, expansion in agricultural activities, growth in tourism venture, etc in the region, APWD devised a proposal to build a new Dam on Kalpong River Diglipur, North Andaman so that the demand of the water can be met and the related problems may be mitigated. The Administration is constructively working on the project, he further said.
The EE, CD, APWD, Diglipur said, in a separate statement recently, that he has recently written a letter to the Director, Engineering Geology Division, Geological Survey of India, Bhu-Bijnan Bhawan, Block DK-VI, Sector-II, Salt Lake City, Kolkata with the request for finalization of a date for carrying out the joint inspection of Core Recovery along with the team of officials from CSMRS. In this regard, the desired soil investigation was carried out through CSMRS and the SPT (Soil Permeability Test) report is awaited while the Core Recovery samples were also taken from the site during soil investigation process which needs to be jointly inspected as desired by the team of CSMRS, he informed the Director in his letter.
APWD, Diglipur is committed to providing water to every household and safeguarding the lives of the people of Diglipur, the confident EE said. “Kalpong is a perennial river and has the potential to satisfy the water requirement of entire Diglipur; while water sources in many other places in Diglipur are in abundance, and what we need is to explore the possibilities and take the optimal benefits of them; and we are now working on it and putting out best efforts to this effect in order to eradicate the scarcity of water in Diglipur” the EE further assured.
Amid all this, a PRI Member when raised the matter of this proposed dam referring to its history in the meeting held on the maiden visit of Mr. Keshav Chandra, the Chief Secretary, A & N Administration at Diglipur and said that on 1st February 2015, the then Lt Governor, Lt Gen A K Singh (Retd) along with the then Member of Parliament, Mr.Bishnu Pada Ray, the then Chief Secretary, Mr. Anand Prakash (IAS) and Chief Engineer cum- Secretary APWD laid the foundation stone of Khudirampur Dam and there was a big expectation that the scarcity of potable water would be eliminated; however, the initiatives in this regard gradually died down and after seven (07) years the project was aborted/pigeonholed and as a result, the people of Diglipur have been suffering due to the sheer dearth/undersupply of potable water especially in dry season, the present CS showed much concern over the delay on the project and he wanted to know the status of the proposed Dam.
Emphasizing on the fulfilment of the demand of the water, he also categorically gave an instant order to the concerned Officials to work on the project wholeheartedly and put their best efforts to complete the project as soon as possible so that people aren’t deprived of their most essential thing, the water.
The people of Diglipur have to face the wrath of the severe scarcity of water especially in peak summer season every year when the APWD curtails the water supply in almost every part of Diglipur, while in some remote areas, the water is supplied through pvt. water-tankers (taken on contract/tender by APWD) by the department and that too at one/two days’ interval and the water being limited in quantity which hardly satisfies the need of the people, residents of Diglipur rued.
There are places where there is possibility of water sources, but lack of policies of the Administration, these water sources are lying un-explored while the people are suffering due to dearth of water, they opined.
However, the proposed Dam at Khudirampur is a prudent step and is a perspicacious plan of the Administration, and once built, the Dam will prove to be a boon for the people of entire Diglipur, the optimistic denizens further said.
