Avtar Bhat
JAMMU, May 5: Started way back in 2013, the much talked about Naigadh Water Supply Scheme in Kishtwar town has yet to see the light of the day as the project has been delayed constantly over the years.
The project since 2013 has missed three deadlines and the Department has now shown optimism of completing the work within three to four months.
According to sources, the scheme was conceived by Public Health Engineering (PHE) Department to solve the immediate drinking water problem of Kishtwar town and its adjoining areas and it was to be commissioned in 2016 as per the proposal. But despite passing six long years the scheme turns to be a distant dream for the inhabitants of the area.
Sources said, the second deadline of completing the scheme was given ending December last year but it too could not be met and later the third deadline of March this year given by the Department has also been missed.
Sources said the initial delay was caused due to forest clearance which was not given up to 2016 despite the fact that the scheme was taken up in hand by the Public Health Engineering Department in the year 2013 itself and its construction was assigned to Hyderabad based Company M/s T.A. Infra Projects Ltd in the same year.
However, the company could not start the work for three years from 2013 to 2016 for want of Forest clearance, sources said, adding the constant delay in completion of the project has led to escalation of estimated cost also.
The initial cost on the project was estimated at Rs 53 crore which, the sources said, would escalate further due to constant delay in its construction as the cost of all components including labourers has increased many fold since then.
Sources said after missing the 2016 deadline due to delay in Forest clearance the Department later gave two more dead lines but failed to meet them too. Though a small portion of about two to three kilometres of the scheme is to be completed but being terrain and hilly the Department is facing many difficulties in construction work.
Sources said with its source at Naigadh nallah the Water Supply Scheme has 32 kms length of gravity up to Filtration Plant at Kishtwar. A compound dia pipe of 300mm and 250 mm was proposed to be laid from Naigadh source.
Sources said after getting the Forest clearance by the company, the work on gravity main from Naigadh Nallah was started in 2016 and till date 29 kms length of gravity main has been completed. However, the Company had sub let the work to local contractors and being the terrain and hilly the contractors also face many problems in construction of the scheme.
Sources said the scheme which was envisaged for augmentation of drinking water supply to Kishtwar township besides five ground reservoirs will have six overhead tanks and a Filtration Plant. The five ground service reservoirs and six OHTs will be constructed at a length of 11 kilometers at an estimated cost of Rs eight crore while the Filtration Plant will be constructed at RD 29, sources added.
Executive Engineer, PHE Kishtwar, Suresh Kotwal said that 80 percent of the gravity work is complete while 75 percent work of sedimentation tank and diversion Veer is also complete.
He said the design of Filtration Plant is still awaited and work on it has not been initiated as the same will be designed by Design Directorate J&K. However land for the Filtration Plant and OHT has been allotted to the Company, he added.
The Executive Engineer said that pending the construction of Filtration plant, the Department is trying hard to complete the work on remaining 2.5 kms of water supply line. Being hilly and terrain the work has to be done manually and he is hopeful to complete the same within two three months to connect it with the already existing scheme to supply the water to the Kishtwar town.
The Kishtwar town and its adjoining areas for which the scheme was envisaged has a population of 60,000 as per official data. Besides, the township is over burdened by floating population by employees as well as security forces. The township is presently reeling under water shortage, sources said.
Sources said the estimated water requirement for the town is about two lakh gallons per day. At present the water to the town is fed up from three sources i.e Lahalla (Shalimar) nallah, existing Naigadh gravity and three number lift Water Supply Schemes. The total availability of water from all these sources is from six to 8 LGPD with the result there is shortage of about 12 lakh gallons per day.
The authorities said that though the target of completion of the gravity main upto proposed Filtration Plant at Trirsar Kishtwar was fixed as December 31 last year but due to bad weather from November onwards the work got delayed and it could not be completed in time. They had extended the date by March this year but the same was also not met. The people who had high hopes that the scheme will be completed by March end this year felt that it is a distant dream for them and they have to grapple with drinking water shortage problem for more time.
Source said Kishtwar town faces acute shortage of water both in summer and winter months and people alleged that they get water supply after three to four days or some times even after a week. This has also generated a lot of public resentment in the area and people are demanding immediate completion of the Water Supply Scheme to relieve them of the problem.
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