Agartala, Mar 19: Tripura Chief Minister Dr. Manik Saha on Thursday informed the House that only 10.06 percent of available groundwater is currently extracted in the state.
He also said that currently, pure drinking water is supplied to all 51 wards of Agartala Municipal Corporation and there is a system of supplying purified drinking water to the municipal area from 31 iron removal plants.
Speaking about drinking water in AMC areas today in the fifth day of Tripura Legislative Assembly, Dr. Saha said that in all the 51 wards of Agartala Municipal Corporation, pure drinking water is distributed.
“After 2018, a 5.50 MLD new treatment plant in Master Para and 3 MLD at College Tilla have already been completed. The main reason behind the dirty, muddy water that we sometimes face is when road restoration is underway, or during the laying of cable lines, gas lines, or construction of drain works in Agartala city. During these works, pipelines may be accidentally cut, allowing dirty and muddy water to enter the pipeline. We immediately repair it and maintain the system,” he said.
Dr. Saha informed that the AMC has started the Clean Your Tank campaign.
“Under Tripura Jal Board, DWS Division Agartala One and 4 DWS Subdivisions distribute water in the AMC area. At present, in AMC, there are 13 surface water treatment plants. There is a system to provide purified drinking water to the urban areas from 31 modified iron removal plants and 6 packaged iron removal plants, which distribute water every day,” he said.
He informed that in AMC, 25% of water comes from surface water from the Howrah River and 75% from groundwater mixed with iron. The Chief Minister said that according to the Central Ground Water Board, 60.60% of water can be extracted from underground.
“Of this, currently only 10.06% of water is extracted from underground. Most of the drinking water supply now has to depend on groundwater. The population of Agartala Municipal Corporation area is about 5,79,418 people. As per AMRUT guidelines, each person needs 135 liters of water per day, making the total drinking water requirement 78.22 million liters every day,” said Dr. Saha.
The Chief Minister also said that many houses have deep tube wells, pumps, or other facilities for drinking water. Drinking water is also provided through these facilities. Apart from this, there is a system for checking the quality of drinking water. In this regard, members of the self-help group (Amrit Mitra) go door to door in different wards to check the quality of water. Along with this, awareness is provided to clean the water tank every 6 months.