BALURGHAT, April 16 -- The municipal water supply in Balurghat town is facing a "severe crisis" due to the dwindling water levels of the Atreyee River, the primary source of drinking water for the area. Officials fear that if the situation continues, the household water supply may come to a "complete halt".
Due to a lack of rainfall, the portion of the Atreyee River near the Congress Ghat water lifting station has started drying up. Making the situation worse, a damaged section of a low-height dam constructed to retain water has allowed most of the river's flow to drain away, exacerbating the crisis.
Engineers from the Balurghat Municipality recently inspected the site and raised concerns that the water intake from the river could soon become impossible. "Water levels are dangerously low near our water project site.
If the river dries up completely, distribution will be severely hampered," said Anoj Sarkar, the MCIC in charge of the drinking water project.
Currently, over 20,000 households in Balurghat depend on the municipal water supply, provided twice daily for an hour each in the morning and afternoon. However, the near-dry condition of the river and exposed sandbanks around the intake point-something not witnessed even during previous summers-signal a worsening situation. Experts attribute the problem to reduced water flow from upstream, particularly due to a dam built on the Atreyee in Bangladesh. To compensate, a small dam was constructed in Balurghat to retain water locally. Unfortunately, a breach in February released most of the stored water.
Given the heavy dependence of residents on this system, the municipality warns that without immediate rainfall or restoration of normal river flow, door-to-door water supply may be completely disrupted, posing a significant challenge for daily life in the town.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.