Tura Greater Urban Water Supply Scheme to benefit over 1.6 lakh families: PHE Minister

SHILLONG, Jan 29: Public Health Engineering (PHE) Minister Marcuise N Marak on Wednesday announced that the Tura Greater Urban Water Supply Scheme, once completed, will benefit over 1.6 lakh families.
“Once completed, the scheme will provide water to more than 1.6 lakh families. The project has a deadline of 24 to 36 months, and it should be completed before the next elections. Residents of Tura town will receive the required amount of water,” said Marak.
Recalling the project’s history, he said the project was conceptualised during PA Sangma’s time and had been pending for since then.
“We began discussions under his leadership. When Conrad came to power, he initiated the project, but due to several reasons, we couldn’t secure the necessary sanction. Fortunately, under his leadership, the project has now been sanctioned, and the foundation stone was recently laid,” the PHE minister said.
Highlighting the significance of the scheme, Marak stated, “Three phases of the Tura Water Supply Scheme have already been completed. The first and second phases were later augmented, but even that was insufficient. In the meantime, Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) came in and in the periphery of Tura town, we distributed water from urban supply schemes to areas near Tura town. For this, securing a water source is also necessary.”
“We have received the sanction, and we are augmenting the JJM to cover Tura town’s periphery. This will ease the burden on the urban water supply scheme, which had been supplying water to villages near the town. Now, bulk water will be used for augmentation,” he added.
Referring to the latest phase of the project, Marak explained, “This is the fourth phase of the Tura Greater Urban Water Supply Scheme. A large reservoir will be constructed downstream of the Ganol River, from where water will be pumped and supplied to various parts of Tura town.”
“The first and second phases were implemented long ago, but as they were inadequate, they were later augmented. Now, the focus is on the Tura Urban Water Supply Scheme,” he added.