In addition to various problems afflicting the PHE Department’s functioning, a slight downpour disturbs the otherwise fragile supply and distribution system of water in most parts of the city. Supply is suspended, all without any information and chances of early resumption left to the emerging circumstances. We could not get an improved version of Sitlee Filtration Plant and wholly relying on this plant for water intake from River Tawi has been resulting in water crisis of various hues at different points of time in Jammu city. Why has all these years no improvement resulted on the ground to rid the plant of the silt problem especially during rainy season and make water supply smooth and uninterruptedly possible?
Has there been any contingency plan for active consideration and implementation with the top authorities of the PHE to meet the challenges directly resulting due to an ordinary act of nature like a heavy rainfall which renders the Sitlee filtration plant crippled? Had it been so, there would have not arisen occasions like the current one when the plant is working only to the extent of 50 percent of its capacity or which in other words means most of the localities in Jammu to get erratic water supply and on deferred basis in addition to less than required volume. Being wholly dependent on electric supply for filtration and intake purposes, frequent and unspecified power cuts too contribute towards accentuating the problem. Why should the Department not have its own power generation mini plants to obfuscate the hardships to the extent of crippling the system on account of very frequent and prolonged power cuts?
Now people , more or less seem to have reconciled with the seemingly difficult resolution of the water supply problem and are constrained to purchase water at exorbitant rates . Since most of the people cannot afford to buy water from private tankers , they continue to suffer as there is no arrangement, absolutely none, with the PHE Department to provide drinking water through water tanks. The worst affected parts of the city are Janipur, Lakkad Mandi, Bhawani Nagar, Excelsior Lane, Naseeb Nagar, New Plot, Patoli, Subash Nagar, Bakshi Nagar, Paloura etc to mention just a few among numerous suffering localities. While on the one hand, there is increasing thrust on providing piped water supply to each and every household and the Central Government has several flagship schemes in this respect for early implementation, Jammu localities continue to suffer simply because of mismanagement and incompetence of the PHE Department. The top authorities are mute entities just passing time and doing practically nothing towards a turnaround of the entire system of water “generation” and distribution.
One could haplessly watch several places in the city itself with colossal and wanton wastage of water in hundreds of gallons from the supply main joints which continue to be unplugged. Wastages and mismanagement are two identified maladies ruling the roost in the PHE Department where no sincere efforts are afoot to resolve them. There is no proper assessment of demand for water which is otherwise progressively increasing day by day and the measures to meet the same. It is an admitted fact that only alternate days or even after three to four days, that also at irregular timings, residents could get water for 40 to 45 minutes duration.
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