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Killing the Brahmaputra river & Guwahati city in installments

2,608 views · Published 9 January 2013 · 2:43 · Indexed 30 September 2026

Channel: Mamu Borah · 2013 · News & Politics

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I don't think in any place on Earth you will find a city like Guwahati city (Capital of Assam State) surviving on Pani Ki Gadi (water carriers) carrying water 12 hours a day 365 days a year as highlighted on this video. It's not unusual to see water tankers coursing through Guwahati city. Drinking water crisis tops the list of civic woes in the city as 90% of Guwahati city areas are yet to be covered under a water supply scheme. Every House, Lodge, Restaurant, Bars, Hotels, to KFC, McDonald or Domino Pizza everything is surviving on private water carriers (Pani ki gadi). Every day acute shortage of ground water in new areas of Guwahati city has been observed which is quite becoming alarming. Local resident of Nijorapar area of Guwahati city are feeling helpless as their well and bore wells have dried up since November 2012 & although taxes are paid regularly to the municipality, no water has been made available.
At present, the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC), the Assam Urban Water Supply and Sewerage Board and the Public Health Engineering (PHE) department together supply drinking water to around 10% may be 20 % (but not 30% as used to get published in newspapers) of the city's population. Those who don't have access to this network, have to buy water daily from the Water tankers. 
 Scarcity of drinking water in Guwahati is nothing new. But the crisis has deepened during the last two years (2011 - 2012) and people are being forced to buy water from carriers and private water suppliers. Water tankers ply through Guwahati and sell water at exorbitant prices," Rs. 200/- to Rs. 300/- per 750 litres of water. What's worse, there's no way residents can check the quality of the water. In the absence of any other source of water, residents have no time to ascertain the purity of the water or whether it has undergone any treatment before being delivered, people are so busy with their daily schedules, and they just pay for whatever is delivered to them. The mighty Brahmaputra river which lay besides Guwahati city is left to dry bit by bit by the Assam Government in the coming years as Brahmaputra river may get diverted due to the newly built dam (World largest Dam) by China & it is worth mentioning that as per International law Assam (INDIA) does not have user right on Brahmaputra river. In the near future if the mighty Brahmaputra River starts drying up then Guwahati city, Capital of Assam will be a dead city.
Water taps have been dry since the mid-90s. Several areas have been forced to source water from wells & deep bore wells. But over the years, these bore wells have also dried up, forcing residents to purchase the precious drops. The city has a population of 13 lakh, housing nearly a quarter of Assam's total urban population. Widespread immigration from both within and outside Assam has put pressure on civic amenities.
 The production capacity of the three existing water treatment plants of GMC at Panbazar, Satpukhuri, and Kamakhya have gone down drastically. The plant, which came up at Panbazar in 1963 about 50 years back with the highest water treatment capacity in the city, needs to be revamped as it is over 50-years-old already. The people of Guwahati used to found leeches in the water supplied by GMC. Sometimes mud comes out of taps and the stench of the water is unbearable.

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