GUWAHATI: Acute crisis of potable water remains the greatest concern in Lal Ganesh area of Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) Ward No 16.
This was revealed in a survey conducted by G Plus in which 50 families of the ward were asked questions on 14 parameters of living standards. Barring 3 (6 per cent), all the respondents expressed dissatisfaction regarding availability of potable water in the area. The residents had complaints on 10 of the 14 parameters, but water crisis topped the list.
“Except for the monsoon season, we have to purchase water almost round the year as even the groundwater reserves are almost depleted. Those who can afford, purchase water while the rest have to collect it from the public water taps. The GMC provides water twice a day through the public taps, but it isn’t enough for all the residents living here,” Abhijit Bose, a resident here said.
Another resident, Partha Goswami, who has been living here for the last 10 years, said that the problem persists and has remained unaddressed by the GMC over the last two years.
“We had filed several complaints to the GMC and the district administration. But no step has been taken yet. Every time we were assured that they will look into the matter. But in the end, it all boils down to one thing: wait till the ongoing water supply projects are over,” Goswami said.
Lal Ganesh, a tri-junction where Kahilipara Road meets the Lokhra Road is also one of the emerging residential areas of the city.
According to the Central Ground Water Board (GGWB), with the groundwater reserves depleting fast, the threat of heavy metals like arsenic, lead, mercury and cadmium in the water is also becoming more pronounced.
A survey conducted by the board revealed that Lal Ganesh already falls under one of the 17 high fluoride zones in the city.
“In Lal Ganesh, we have found that the fluoride level is above 7 milligram (mg) per litre which is way above the permissible 2 mg per litre. However, if the groundwater reserve keeps getting depleted at this rate and not replenished at the same rate, we are staring at an imminent threat of heavy metal accumulation in the region," a scientist in the Guwahati office of CGWB said.
Heavy metals, as the name suggests, are heavier than other metals and thus, have a tendency of settling at the bottom of groundwater reserves.
While fluoride contamination causes health hazards like skeletal fluorosis causing bent bones in legs and dental fluorisis causing crooked teeth, hazards of heavy metals are more serious.
These include neural troubles, serious skin diseases, disability in children and weak development of certain body parts among others.
Clogged drains, water logged lanes and other woes
While water crisis tops the problems for the residents of Lal Ganesh, the locality is also suffering from poor maintenance of drains, especially in the lanes and so, has water logging issues too as a result.
47 respondents (94 per cent) expressed dissatisfaction with the drainage network which according to them is either faulty or not properly maintained. Regarding water logging, 36 respondents (72 per cent) said that the whole area is prone to the problem while 12 others say that it is confined to a few lanes only.
“While water logging on GS Road and Zoo Road area is something that cannot be avoided due to congestion, the same is not the case here. A bit of management and regular cleaning of the drains will easily stop this problem here,” Partha Goswami, a resident said.
Regarding drainage system, 33 residents (66 per cent) said that there is no proper drainage here while 14 others (28 per cent) said that it needs improvement.
The residents are not satisfied with the road conditions too as only 4 (8 per cent) said that the roads are good while off the rest 46 (92 per cent), 15 (30 per cent) said that it is average and 31 (62 per cent) said that the road condition is bad.
In Lal Ganesh, an area that has earned a reputation of being one of the crime prone areas of the city, only 7 residents (14 per cent) felt secured while the rest said it needs more police vigil.
This area, which is not exactly within the core of the city, is also suffering from frequent load-shedding. 18 respondents (36 per cent) said that they suffer from load-shedding for at least more than an hour daily while 9 others (18 per cent) said that it lasts as long as an hour.
Regarding pest control, 35 (70 per cent) said that there have been no such activity while the rest 15 (30 per cent) said that pest control measures are taken up occasionally.
Lal Ganesh is also one of the dengue prone zones of the city according to a survey conducted by the National Vector Borne Disease Control Programme under the National Health Mission to check prevalence of the disease.
The area, however, is not devoid of its perks. Adequate streetlights, door-to-door garbage collection, transport connectivity and availability of healthcare facilities are the few living parameters in the ward in which the residents expressed satisfaction with the GMC.
Solving water crisis is beyond my capacity: Councillor
Pran Krishna Bhaumik, councillor of Ward No 16, admitting his inability to provide regular drinking water preferred to highlight the ward’s streetlight condition and regular garbage collection.
“Water crisis is a problem over which I don’t have much jurisdiction. It is being looked after by the Guwahati Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA). However, what I can do is to ensure regular garbage collection and make sure that the roads are well lit. The residents have no complaints regarding these services,” Bhaumik said.
When apprised that the residents are not satisfied with the road conditions, Bhaumik added, “It all depends on the funds. With the limited funds that I receive, I have spent on streetlights and other services. Moreover, this region is one of the exits to the national highway and is frequently used by heavy vehicles. So, the cost to repair roads is high. This hampers the construction of new roads.”
He also urged that to deal with the depleting ground water, people should try to increase the green cover in their respective areas.
"The green cover is a major concern, I admit. Even the urban floods are caused due to lesser green cover in the area. I had been encouraging the people of my ward to refrain from covering their compounds with concrete. This will at least delay the ground water depletion to a lot of extent," Bhaumik said.
According to a map prepared by the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) on the green covers in the city, Lal Ganesh is one of the mildly vegetative wards.
A BJP councillor, Bhaumik is banking on the incumbent government of the same party to solve the water crisis problem.
"Water crisis is a problem that has gripped the whole city. It is due to the inefficiency of the 15 years of rule of corruption of the former government. The works in the water projects have already started and is being done on a war footing. Soon this problem will be solved too," Bhaumik said.
He further added, "Once people get 24X7 water from the government, the ground water usage will decrease to a lot of extent. Heavy metal contamination is a threat in the long run and we hope that the water crisis will be sorted way before that."