Saryu Rai reiterates demand for release of Chandil dam water into Subarnarekha

Jamshedpur: Jamshedpur (East) MLA Saryu Rai reiterated his demand with the state government to release quantity of water from the Chandil dam into the Subarnarekha river.Demanding from the assembly to give directions to the government to release the dam water into the river, the MLA, on Tuesday, said households dependent on the Moharda drinking water project are experiencing difficulties in receiving piped water on a regular basis at the onset of Summer, due to the depletion of the level of water in Subarnarekha.Notably, the Moharda water project sources its water from Subarnarekha.Earlier, the government refused to release the dam water, citing difficulty.In its reply to the question made by Rai in the assembly three days ago, the government said farmers living in the villages, anchoring the dam, are opposed to the raising of the dam water to its full storage capacity. Hence, it is not feasible to release the water of the dam.The threat of overflow on filling the water to full storage capacity, which causes large tracts of agricultural field get submerged particularly in the rainy season, pushed local farmers to oppose raising the water level, government said.Regulated by the Subarnarekha Multipurpose Project (SMP), the present storage capacity of the Chandil dam is 181 metres, but water level is normally below 177 metres during most part of the year. “The government is doing disservice to the people by not releasing the dam water into the river,” Rai said.Citing National Water Policy (NWP) of 1987 and 2002, Rai said the primary basis of building reserviour is to provide clean drinking water to the populace.