Task Force teams constituted to check illegal connections, boosters
Department adding 20 million gallons of water to city this year
Srinagar: The department of Public Health Engineering (PHE) has started a massive drive against illegal water supply connections to stop pilferage of drinking water in City.
Talking to KNS, Ahmad Muzaffar Lanker chief engineer PHE said that the department wants to curb the menace of misuse of drinking water especially in city. “In some areas we face shortage of drinking water and at some places in City we misuse drinking water by watering plants, lawns, construction purposes and washing our cars,” Mr Lanker observed.
He said that the department provide 67 million gallons of drinking water to City every day and out of this 60 per cent is being misused. “We have formed the Task Force teams headed by AEEs at sub divisional level who will check and curb the illegal connections, illegal boosters and see to it that drinking water is not misused at any cost,” the Chief Engineer PHE said.
Mr Lanker said that AEEs are empowered under water resources Act and they can even impose fine and disconnect the water supply connection to any household found misusing the drinking water supplied by the government.
He said that the department had facilitated low interests loans from Jammu and Kashmir Bank for tube wells in order to reduce the dependence of PHE water supply but the same has not received any response from the public. “The Bank was giving Rs 48000 per house hold for digging of tube wells but the response has been poor,” he added.
Mr Lanker told KNS that the department is also mulling to add 20 million gallons of drinking water with two to three months this year in order to cater areas facing drinking water shortage. “This addition will cater to areas like Pampore, Indira Nagar, Bypass, Chanpora, Khanmoh, Khrew and many other areas in the city,” the Chief Engineer informed. Mr Lanker said that the task Force teams will inspect main city besides the peripheries like Ganderbal, Chadoora and Budgam.