SHILLONG, Feb 19: The drying up of water sources and catchment areas, which provide drinking water to Shillong, has become a major cause of concern, leaving the members of the Assembly worried.
The Opposition MLAs on Monday raised concerns that the Umiew river, which is the source of Greater Shillong Water Supply Scheme (GSWSS), is drying up. They called for immediate measures to protect the catchment areas of not only a particular source of water but all sources in the state.
They also expressed concern over largescale deforestation near the catchment areas, affecting these water sources. They warned that if steps are not taken early, the situation will turn worse.
“If the (PHE) minister is saying that the source of GSWSS and Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) is from Umiew river, is he aware that this source is drying up and there has been very less effort to reserve this catchment area?” leader of Opposition Ronnie V Lyngdoh asked.
He urged the minister to ensure that people get adequate water. He stressed that the catchment area is protected and that there is rejuvenation work. He warned that people will, otherwise, face a huge problem in the future.
“There is largescale deforestation going on. The government is making efforts for afforestation but more needs to be done,” he said.
Earlier, Synshar Kupar Roy Lyngdoh Thabah, the UDP’s Sohiong MLA, asked the government if it is exploring an alternative source of water to lessen dependency on water supply from Mawphlang in view of the upcoming New Shillong Township.
Thabah expressed concern that people in his constituency, which still is a rural area, have started buying water. He asked the government what steps it took to strengthen the sources, especially for the implementation of JJM.
Replying to the queries, PHE minister Marcuise Marak said Umiew is not the source for JJM. He said the sources for JJM are surface and ground water and they are mostly rain-fed.
Supplementing the answer, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma said the government recently launched an important programme for the protection and rejuvenation of catchment areas of Umiew and Ganol rivers with a total outlay of Rs 344 crore.
He added that the Meghalaya government is one of the few state governments to work closely with the North East Space Applications Centre. “We have mapped over 50,000 springs. Now, the Soil Conservation department, through another externally-aided project with ADB, is working towards creating a minimum of 400 to 500 reservoirs to stop the flow of water or to store it,” Sangma said.
He said nine springs had dried up but the government rejuvenated them and people are now getting around 50,000 litres of water from these sources.
