East Singhbhum DC asks officials to ensure water supply to 1.5 lakh residents on outskirts of Steel City

Jamshedpur: The East Singhbhum administration on Monday constituted a regulatory committee to ensure smooth and regular tap water supply to 1.5 lakh residents of Chota Govindpur. Deputy commissioner Karn Satyarthi, who met all the stakeholders to discuss the water supply problem, said the committee will consist of panchayat representatives, officials from the district drinking water and sanitation department (DWSD) and the private water supply agency. “The committee will oversee water supply to over 22,000 tap connections across 22 panchayats in the southern fringes of the Steel city," he said.

Rural and suburban areas in Govindpur, Sopodera, Haludbani, Gadra, Pursudih, Sarjamda were facing water scarcities after supplies were halted due to pending dues to the agency by the DWSD on September 7. Notably, the DWSD owes Rs 3 crore to the agency for its services. At Monday’s meeting, Satyarthi directed the officials to ensure water supply remains intact in these areas.

Satyarthi said the water supplied by the agencies will be tested in laboratories to determine its quality after some panchayat members complained. Additionally, mukhias were directed to identify leakages and submit a list of such locations to the DWSD for repairs. New modalities will also be developed to ensure transparency in the collection of water tariffs from customers.

Satyarthi also directed the officials to expedite the installation of 10,000 new tap connections in the area. The agency, tasked with water supply, has been asked to conduct a fresh survey of the physical condition of overhead tanks and supply lines to resolve any problems in a specified timeframe. The DC has also directed Sunil Kumar, the executive engineer of DWSD, along with the the representatives from the private agency (Gemini Enterprises), which is supplying water to the households, to ensure that water supply is not compromised due to delays in settling outstanding dues.

“Now that the DC has intervened into the matter and worked out modalities for the smooth and regular supply of water, we are expecting there would be no water problem during the festival period and thereafter,” said Zila Parishad member Paritosh Singh, who attended the meeting held at Sarjamda panchayat Bhavan.