JAMMU, MAY 29: With the mercury hovering around 43 degree Celsius, Jammu city is facing worst ever water crisis facing shortage of 11 million gallons of potable water per day.
 Sources in the Public Health Engineering (PHE) said that against the actual demand 45 Million Gallons per Day (MGD), the department was able to supply only 33 -32 MG of water per day from all its sources.
 The supply system of the PHE department comprises of filtration plants and tube wells with an installed capacity of 42.5 MGD. But the department is able to supply only 32-33 MG water per day due to various impediments affecting the smooth functioning of its installation. Major portion of potable water is supplied to the city through filtration plants and remaining by the tube-wells .
 Sources  said the erratic power supply  has  severely affected  the water supply situation  as a result of which many areas of  city like Roop Nagar, Janipur, Indira Colony, Buta Nagar, Naseeb Nagar, Ploura, Durga Nagar, Muthi, Ban Talab, New Plots, Sainik Colony, Bathindi, Sunjwan, Narwal, Greater Kailash are reeling under water shortage. Many areas get water supply just once a day and that too not for sufficient time. 
 Gandhi Nagar and Tarikuta Nagar are the only areas where water supply is provided twice a day, while remaining localities get the supply only once a day, sources said.
 They added that at least 25-30 percent water supply is affected per day due to erratic power supply.
 When contacted, the Chief Engineer PHE, BR Dogra admitted that due to long power cuts the water supply was affected. “Over 200 Tube Wells are dependent on power supply. On an average 50 percent of them remain out of order due to mechanical fault or shut down due to power curtailment. Low voltage is yet another problem. It aggravates the problem during hot summer days,” he said.
 He said that over 50 water tankers have also been deployed in Jammu city to cater to the need of the people during these summer days.
 Dogra, however, declined that the city was facing a shortage of 11 MG per day saying it was an exaggerated figure.
 About the proposed Chenab water lifting scheme, Dogra said that the conceptual proposal for the same has been worked out and   submitted to the CM.
 He said the detailed project report (DPR) for the project was being formulated by the Economic Reconstruction Agency ERA. “The project has to be executed into two phases and hopefully first phase will be completed in next three years. The estimated cost of the project has been worked out to the tune of Rs 1000 Crore,” he added.

Lastupdate on : Tue, 29 May 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Tue, 29 May 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Wed, 30 May 2012 00:00:00 IST