Summer heat may be easy to beat for many but the problem it brings is not so easy to be addressed for huge number of people, especially those belonging to the middle class and the poor.
Precarious ground water situation coupled with uneven supply of water, pathetic water management plus delayed water pipeline projects all going to make the summer hotter for the residents of Ranchi. The slow pace of complaint management for faulty hand pumps is going to add to the water woes of people.
As per the data available with the complaint monitoring system maintained by Drinking Water and Sanitation Department (DWSD), in last one year the department has gone slow over repair work of faulty hand pumps (See box). The backlog has been around 50 per cent however the department has vowed to clear the backlog with utmost priority. The issue, however, has embroiled in intradepartmental complexities leaving the issue at the mercy of Mukhiya, in rural areas, who receive funds from department of Panchayati Raj which in turn receive funds from DWSD.
“Yes, the backlog has increased and we are looking into that however we don’t look after these things in rural areas where the job is for the Panchayati Raj to do,” maintained Engineer-in-chief of DWSD Shardendu Narayan.
Interestingly, water woes would appear a hydra headed monster due to lingering water pipeline project envisaged to address the need of water for Ranchi. The Rs 288-crore water pipeline project has been running behind schedule ever since the DWSD terminated the contract of Hyderabad based agency, IVRCl, last year. The department had selected IVRCl for the project in 2010 however only half of the work could be accomplished till
July 2013.
The department has been unable to find a suitable bidder to replace the disgraced agency and in the meantime the project is facing cost escalation. Any further development on water pipeline project doesn’t appear to be a possibility even in this summer.
“The (fresh) tender is under process and it should be completed in 40 days,” pointed out the Engineer-in-chief adding, “there would be some cost escalation as the tender was issued on rates of 2009”.
Incidentally, the project envisages more than 300 km of pipeline, one water treatment plant, one intake well six water towers at Harmu, Dibdih, Pundag, Tupudana and Kusai besides three sumps at Sukurhuttu, lalgutwa and Rampur.
Meanwhile, the Ranchi Municipal Corporation (RMC) has initiated small measures in large numbers to meet the water requirement before summer reaches its peak. The municipal body plans to dig around 300 hand pumps and installing water tanks of 2000 liters capacity in every ward.
“We have already dug around 200 hand pumps and have requested the Election Commission for permission to float tender for purchasing water tanks for every ward,” said Deputy CEO of RMC Om Prakash Shah.
Nonetheless, absence of coordination among stake holders of water management is likely to compound problems for the city.