Siliguri, June 5 -- The longstanding drinking water issues in Siliguri have shown signs of improvement, with water supply returning to normal in all city wards on Thursday. However, the Siliguri Municipal Corporation (SMC) is continuing its efforts to find a long-term solution to the city's water woes. In this regard, Siliguri Mayor Gautam Deb held an emergency meeting on Thursday afternoon with senior officials from the Public Health Engineering (PHE) and Irrigation departments at the SMC headquarters. Several key decisions were taken during the meeting.

The Mayor revealed that a massive 4.1 million cubic meters of silt has accumulated in the Fulbari Canal, severely hampering the flow and lift of water for citywide distribution. "No previous SMC board took the initiative to clean this canal, which has resulted in this heavy siltation. We are now taking this up seriously," Deb said. He announced that a tender has already been approved and an agency will soon begin the desiltation process. In the first phase, one lakh cubic meters of silt will be cleared. "This is crucial because the silt accumulation has disrupted water circulation. Less water is being lifted than required, which is why many wards were facing erratic supply," Deb added. Meanwhile, a technical issue has been identified in the design drawing for the second phase of the mega drinking water project. The design will be revised and the work is expected to begin soon after.

In addition to the main reservoir, a proposal has also been sent to create a smaller auxiliary reservoir to further strengthen water storage capacity. To support this large-scale initiative, the plan includes the construction of eight large overhead water reservoirs and the installation of eight deep tubewells. Of these, tenders have been floated for seven. Moreover, three additional deep tubewells will be set up in critical areas. Looking ahead, a follow-up meeting is scheduled after June 13 to finalise and expedite the second phase of the drinking water project. In the meantime, the SMC has deployed 33 water tankers to provide emergency water supply to residents.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.