John Wilbert & Vikramaditya
Port Blair, March 20: The Andaman Public Works Department (APWD) had released a notice last month regarding water curtailment in Port Blair PBMC Jurisdiction due to the deficit monsoon during 2022 and 2023.
The water crisis in the city has become even more severe as witnessed by many people in the South Andaman area. Water curtailment has forced them to virtually run from pillar to post even for a single bucket of water.
Andaman Sheekha Daily is getting reports that in some places like New Pahargaon people are not getting one bucket of water in three days while in some places of South Andaman, water is supplied once in seven days.
When contacted, a senior officer from APWD told Andaman Sheekha that the present water level of Dhanikhari reservoir is 56.28 meters on March 20, 2023, which can serve the city for five months till July. In 2022 the water level of Dhanikhadi Dam was 59.50 meters, while in 2021 the water level was 62.1 meters and in 2020 it was 55.49 meters on March 20.
He said that compared to previous year, Andaman Islands have received lesser rainfall last year, and the present depth of water in the Dhanikhari Dam suggests that the dam can cater for only until July.
However, he stressed that there is no plan for further curtailment in water supply because the Rutland Water Project is covering the major part of the supply. Presently, 13 hours of pumping is being done in a day for receiving around 06 MLD per day of water from Rutland. Rutland water supply also directly covers some villages of South Andaman like Guptapara, Manjery, Wandoor, and Humfrigunj areas. The administration is hoping for good rainfall this year, which will help fill the dam in the coming months, he added.
The senior officer added that the Andaman and Nicobar Administration is working on further plans, and one major project is the Flatbay Project. They have identified some water sources to build check dams in Karpeyaswamy Nallah in Bimblitan and another check dam in Bachchara Pahad near Chouldary area.
“The administration has already called for consultancy for these projects. They have also received approval for work on Rut Islands eastern side, where five water sources have been identified. As per information, they will engage a consultancy within two days, and if everything goes smoothly, APWD is targeting to complete the work within 24 months. Once it is completed, APWD will get an additional 07 to 08 MLD per day of water supply,” he added.
