Port Blair, June 02: The Member of Parliament, Mr. Bishnu Pada Ray today urged the Administration to take expeditious steps to mitigate the current water shortage being faced by the people of Bambooflat area.
In a meeting with the Chief Secretary, Mr. Anand Prakash and senior officers at the conference hall of Secretariat today, Mr. Ray said the Community Health Centre (CHC) at Bambooflat is also facing shortage of water and urged the Administration to take immediate steps to provide water to the CHC. Apart from shortage of water, the MP called for improving the quality of water that is supplied to CHC so that it does not lead to health problems. He also drew the attention of the Administration towards the need for bringing about further improvements in the CHC like ensuring regular power supply, installation of air conditioners in certain wards including the dental ward, improving toilet facilities, availability of the services of specialists, security staff, combating the menace of mosquitoes, replacement of beds, engaging nursing staff against leave vacancies, repair & maintenance of staff quarters and installation of TV sets etc.
The MP apprised the CS about the non-functioning of the gas-based crematorium at Shore Point, stating that it has remained non-functional since it was commissioned by Zilla Parishad.
The Chief Secretary directed the APWD to come out with a technically feasible plan to solve the current water scarcity of Bambooflat. The Chief Secretary directed the DHS to bring out improvements in the CHC in a time bound manner and to explore the possibility of getting the services of specialists including those from Defence so that the rural populace could benefit.
The CE APWD apprised the Member of Parliament that action has been taken in the recent days to improve the water supply in the area and assured him that all his suggestions have been noted and will be acted upon most expeditiously.
While taking up de-silting of the Bambooflat dam which was overdue, the authorities overlooked the fact that the entire area depends heavily on Bambooflat dam for their daily requirement of water. The situation was that in some of the areas water supply was cutoff for over 8 days at a stretch.
Thus a step that should have been well appreciated, because of mismanagement, attracted the anger of the public.