SHILLONG: Residents of Pynthorbah locality on Wednesday bore witness to a first of its kind ‘water ATM’ which was inaugurated by Deputy Chief Minister R.C. Laloo in the locality in the presence of Cabinet members A.L. Hek and Ampareen Lyngdoh.
The water ATM was inaugurated the Non Conventional Energy on Water and Sanitation for Urban Poor (NEWS-UP), a project funded by the World Bank along with the initiative of South Asian Forum for Environment (SAFE), at an investment of Rs 40 lakh.
“It is a pilot project and it will benefit 400 households,” said B. Sten, headman of Pynthorbah, while speaking of the water ATM.
SAFE will host the home page for the community of Pynthorbah as on the same day the community’s library was inaugurated by Laloo and the headman was hopeful of opening up an e-library.
Speaking as chief guest, Laloo said, “We are hopeful that the project will be spread to other places as well.”
Hek donated an amount of Rs 5 lakh for the construction of the remaining works of the Pynthorbah Community hall and urged Laloo, who is in charge of the PHE department, to install a dedicated pipe to overcome the scarcity of water, to which Laloo in his speech assured the minister of all help.
“The project will be futile if no dedicated pipes from a perennial source are installed,” Hek said.
Lauding the project as well as cautioning the people behind it, Urban Affairs Minister Ampareen Lyngdoh said, “Organic manure is the by-product of SAFE and organic is the mantra of all agricultural products. But such projects hope the stand the test of time as most organizations come and bring along projects while after 5 years they disappear.”
“We need SAFE to hand hold us and on the part of the Department of Urban Affairs, we will keep our eyes open,” Lyngdoh said.
Dipayan Dey from SAFE said, “It is a good project and it is a responsibility to keep it in good shape.”
He informed that the water ATM project had first been inaugurated in Kolkata, followed by Guwahati and Shillong and added said that the water ATM will work 24×7.
Dey lauded the cooperation of the Dorbar Shnong of Pynthor and the Urban Affairs department.
Also present at the programme, was president of Synjuk ki Nongsynshar Shnong ka Bri u Hynniewtrep, W. Kharshiing, who advocated for a clean environment and for other localities to follow in the footsteps of Pynthorbah.
