TURA: The three-day general budget session of the Garo Autonomous District Council began on Tuesday.
The opposition in the council is expected to question the ruling NPP-led Executive Committee, headed by Chief Executive Member Dipul R Marak, about the delay in completion of the water reservoir on Tura Government College premises.
The reservoir supplies drinking water to the populated localities of Hawakhana and its nearby areas.
The session began with obituary references to former MDCs DC Barman and Sanduram A Sangma before being adjourned for the day.
The general budget is to be presented before the house by Executive Member in-charge of Finance S N Sangma on Wednesday.
Prior to the budget presentation, there is to be a question hour in which the opposition is expected to seek answers from the treasury benches over the delay in completion of the water reservoir at Hawakhana.
The old reservoir had been supplying water to the households located in Hawakhana, Mondoltilla, Nehru A’ding, AOC, Lower and Northern Hawakhana localities and parts of Teteng A’ja for several decades.
The reservoir had developed cracks leading to a major leakage of water and PHE and GHADC technical experts decided to dismantle it and construct a new one with bigger capacity.
However, though the old reservoir was dismantled over a year ago, work on the new one has been going at a snail’s pace leading to acute water shortage. The impact is most felt during the dry months of the year with respite coming only with the arrival of the annual monsoons.
Garo Hills region, like the rest of the country, has been experiencing a drop in rainfall during monsoon over the last few years, including the current season, which is adding to peoples’ woes.
