GANGTOK: In view of acute water shortage at various resource points due to inadequate rainfall in winter, the water supply in the serviced zones in the state capital will be made only once every day, a senior official said on Wednesday.A trial run is being conducted by Public Health and Engineering Department (PHED) engineers to regulate water supply in different areas of the state capital, and it will be operationalised once the mechanism gets finalised, he said.”We will supply water in the service zones in Gangtok and only once during the day due to acute scarcity of the natural resource,” PHED Secretary Sailendra Sharma told reporters here.Since the drinking water is the very basis of life, domestic use must take precedence, and accordingly, the commercial establishments must reduce activities marginally during this critical period, he said.Amid the prevailing scarcity of water due to the drying up of natural sources due to lack of rainfall for months, it becomes imperative to curtail wastage as the continued dry conditions may lead to an acute shortage in the coming months.In view of the prevailing situation, all households are requested to adopt measures to avoid wastage and consider installing float valves to ensure equitable flow to houses with lower pressure if the tanks overflow due to higher differential pressure, he said. Any wastage detected may invite strict action, Sharma warned.”Together, through responsible use and collective effort, we can safeguard this most vital resource and ensure equitable access for every household,” the PHED official said.It may be mentioned that Gangtok has been facing a water crisis for some time due to an unprecedented situation of insufficient rainfall since November last year.Under the directions of chief minister Prem Singh Tamang, a project under ADB funding for bringing water from the alternate sources is already in an advanced stage of completion.
