Kalimpong residents protest at DM’s office over drinking water crisis

REZA PRADHAN

DARJEELING,: Protesters on Monday gheraoed the Kalimpong District Magistrate’s office to demonstrate against a severe drinking water shortage that has plagued the municipal area for over ten days.

Organised by the apolitical body Kalimpong Jan Kalyan Samiti (KJKS), the protest included a rally and saw the participation of leaders from different political parties.

Indian Gorkha Janshakti Front (IGJF) leader Bhernone Britto Lepcha, who took part in the protest, said, "This is a genuine problem for the people of Kalimpong, who have been without drinking water for 11 days. Even during the Dashain festival, there was no water here. People who can afford it are buying water, but what about those who cannot afford it?"

CPIM leader Tara Sundas, who also participated in the protest, said, "We have come here as members of the public and not as leaders of any party, as people are facing a lot of problems due to the water shortage."

Echoing similar sentiments, KJKS secretary Hem Kanta Bhandari said, "We have been given assurances about the steps that will be taken, but we want water to be supplied now, as people are facing a lot of problems."

The protest began with a rally from Damber Chowk, where participants raised slogans demanding the restoration of water supply.

The rally culminated at the DM's office, where the protesters demanded that the District Magistrate address them. However, instead of the DM, Kalimpong SDO Soumyo Ghosh addressed the gathering. As the SDO is also currently serving as the administrator of the Kalimpong Municipality, he was considered the appropriate person to address the protesters.

"We have already started supplying water in phases to different areas, but there seems to be a problem with water pressure in some places, which we are looking into. One of the main problems is that the water distribution pipes have become old," Ghosh said.

"There are currently two schemes announced by the government for drinking water supply in the Kalimpong Municipality area. One will be implemented by the PHE and the other by the MED. The government has approved both schemes, and the PHE needs to float a tender for its scheme, which mainly involves replacing the old pipes. As for the AMRUT water scheme, the MED has already started work on it," Ghosh said.

He added that since the SDO's office was not the implementing agency, it could only pursue the matter with the concerned departments to ensure that the work was completed as soon as possible, and that it was doing so.