Agency
Imphal: The State Government has made elaborate arrangements to relieve the people from the acute water crisis which has left a harsh impact on the day to day lives of those living in Imphal and adjoining areas.
Speaking exclusively to Northeast Live, PHED Minister L. Susindro Meitei informed that necessary arrangements have been made at the Khuman Lampak Sports complex where at least 100 water filling points will be made operational.
Susindro Meitei sharing the government’s plans to fight the crisis said, “Today itself we are planning to make about 100 water filling points here in Khuman Lampak Sports Complex.
All the sources are coming from Chingkhei Ching that is 45 MLD (million litres per day), we will supply 100 trucks here at a single time. And, now we are preparing, we will try to inaugurate tomorrow by evening. Chief Minister N Biren Singh will do it. This (venue) is most sufficient because it is the center place of Imphal. Everyone can come and collect the water from here also.”
When asked as to how long this arrangement will continue, the Minister informed, “It will continue for a month. It will be free of cost. After one month we are going to supply from the water supply area.”
The PHED Minister also highlighted the severity of the situation when he spoke about the water requirements for Imphal city.
He said, “In Imphal city we require more than 130 MLD per day but we have a source from the Chingkhei Ching from the Thoubal Dam but in this source we are getting only 40 MLD. This 40 MLD we are supplying all the places turnwise. So there are some places which do not have pipelines or cannot be reached for any other reason. So in those places we are using portable water reservoirs.”
Conveying that the government is also trying to fetch water from other sources, The Minister said, “Now apart from that source we are trying to bring from the Loktak Lake and from 2-3 other sources. So we are
planning for that, but the main reason for this is deforestation.”
According to the National Wetland Inventory and Assessment published by the Space Application Centre, Manipur has 15 major rivers/streams having 166.77 sq.km of total area i.e. about 0.75 percent of the total
geographical area of the State.
About 90 percent of the drinking water supply in urban areas of the State is from the three major rivers namely Imphal River, Nambul River and Iril River.
There are four major river basins of the State – Barak River Basin (Barak Valley) to the West, Manipur River Basin in central Manipur, Yu River Basin in the East and portion of the Liyai River Basin in the North.
(Courtesy: The Northeast Live)
