By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: Water supply in the city was restored at 2:30pm on Monday after three days of acute water crisis but supply of water will start from Tuesday morning.
Informing this here on Monday, Chief Engineer PHE, SK Sunn said the water supply main gravity pipeline of 750mm diameter which burst at Lad Mawreng, East Khasi Hills here on Saturday was repaired on Monday afternoon. “The supply of water was restored at 2:30pm this afternoon”, Sunn added.
The city has been facing intense water crisis since Friday last due to the breakdown of the said feeder pipe affecting water supply to Mawphlang supply site. This has resulted in disruption in supply of water all over the city much to the dismay of residents and establishments.
It is learnt that areas, such as, Swami Vivekananda Road, Bishop Cotton Road, Laitumkhrah, Dhankheti and other areas in the city are facing shortage of water. A worker from Youth Hostel said that there is no water for the last couple of days and they are depending on water tanker during the period.
An official from an Institute of Culture at Bishop Cotton Road said that it has become really difficult without water since the institute also has guesthouse and dormitory facilities.
“I hope that water will return by 4pm on Monday evening but that has not happened. Now I have to call in a tanker to refill the tanks since our dormitory and guesthouses are full with guests,” he said.
There are also instructions from various establishments, such as hotels, guest houses and even private houses which have let off rooms on rent, to use water carefully in view of the crisis.
In some small hotels and guesthouses, water reservoirs have gone blank due to the long water crisis this time. In many localities, residents had to depend upon natural spring waters since there was no supply in the community water taps.
Similar incidents of people suffering from water crisis are also reported from elsewhere in the city. In Laitumkhrah a resident said that the water crisis is a common phenomenon here and since Friday they are left nowhere.
“The water carriers are doing brisk business,” said a resident of Lady Veronica Lane. In Polo, residents are also affected along with government quarters. “We don’t have any water for the last couple of days and we have stopped all major works which involves large volume of water,” said a housewife from the PHE quarter at Lawmali.
Meanwhile, water tankers and water carriers in the city are doing brisk business.
These tankers are seen supplying water in various houses, commercial establishments and educational institutions, too.
There are also reports of scarcity of water tankers in the city on Monday as they are in high demand all over. “When we called a water tanker, I was told that he cannot supply as he has many other orders to attend to,” said a manager of a guesthouse. A resident of Nongrim Hills said that water carriers aren’t seen on the day, who are otherwise omnipresent.
Though the waster supply was supposed to be reinstalled by Monday evening at 4pm as informed by the Additional Chief Engineer, PHE, Zone-I recently, who was not possible and now water supply to establishments will start from Tuesday morning.
It is learnt that since there are not enough storage of water by the PHE for supply in the city, so it could not start supply from Monday evening.