Source: Hueiyen News Service
Imphal, November 04 2010:
Even though many schemes for supply of safe drinking water, the public health engineering department is yet not able to supply everyday requirement of the people residing in Imphal area.
The estimated population of the greater Imphal area was 7.55 lakh and the actual requirement of safe drinking water has been estimated at 1010.92 MLD (Million Litre per Day).
However, presently the PHED is supplying only 70 MLD.
The said quantity of water is supply from 17 water supply schemes and most of the schemes could not produce the targeted safe drinking water per day as they are outdated and running with upgradation or repairing for a long time.
An official of the PHED admitting the shortfall in the supply of safe drinking water against the demand, said that most of the water supply plants currently supplying water in Imphal were laid around 40 year back.
The shortfall in the production of water couple with the outdate pipelines, PHED could not fulfill demands.
Another factor is the illegal tapping of water by the consumers.
Some consumers are using power pumps and pumping out water from the water supply lines while some are making holes without permission and tapping the water.
Drives against illegal connections were conducted many a time but could not effectively control these activities, he disclosed.
This is the main reason behind huge gap between the supply and demand.
By the year 2036, the population of Imphal city and its surrounding areas is estimated to increase at 14.43 lakh that means the demand will be double.