The Siliguri Municipal Corporation (SMC) is nearing completion to provide safe drinking water for their preparations starting tomorrow. This comes after the water flow from the Teesta River has been restored and the water treatment plant is now operational. Goutam Deb, the mayor of Siliguri, declared in a media briefing that the Chief Engineer of Public Health Engineering in North Bengal has informed the SMC Commissioner about the restart of water supply from the Teesta River.
The PHE is set to begin supplying clean drinking water this evening. Mr. Deb thanked the different departments, administration, and citizens for their collaboration during the severe water shortage caused by the immediate fix of a damaged embankment on the Teesta River at Gazoldoba in
Jalpaiguri. This was the result of an unexpected flood in Sikkim in October 2023.
Despite the SMC’s efforts to ensure a continued supply of treated drinking water from the Mahananda River, it was deemed unfit for consumption. The organization had to notify the public about this and advise them against using the water for drinking purposes. The situation in Siliguri became dire as the indigenous measures for providing drinking water were said to be insufficient.
“A great number of individuals are experiencing hardship and turmoil. I bear the responsibility for causing this grief. I was given this report on the evening of June 28th. I did not intend to conceal the information. Ultimately, I made the choice to share it with the people addressing the media,” Mayor Goutam Deb said.
“Taking cue from the present water crisis issue, the SMC is emphasizing the importance of reviving three rivers—Fuleshwari, Jorapani, and Panchanoi—in Siliguri.
The state government has allotted Rs 10 crore for this purpose. To protect the Mahananda River, the SMC will take strict action against individuals who have been illegally constructing cow sheds, dumping waste, and building latrines on its banks. Additionally, KMDA and SMC will work together to establish a Sewage Treatment Plant (STP-I) to preserve the Mahananda River, with a total cost of Rs 255 crore. The corporation will also manage STP-II and STP-
III,” Mr. Deb added.