New Tehri residents grapple with water shortage daily

New Tehri: Call it a cruel irony or a problem arising from rapid urbanization, but residents of the town of New Tehri face acute water shortage daily. Builders of New Tehri had designed the town keeping in mind the needs for the citizens. But as time went on, the population increased and as a result the town of about 35000 people is facing water shortages. The news is even more shocking considering that the town sits on the the tallest dam in India.

The town receives its water supply from the reservoir created by the Tehri Dam via Bhagirathipuram. In 1995 the pipelines were laid down across New Tehri and were repaired in 2005 but the continuous population growth meant that the pipeline network just couldn’t cope up with the demand. The town receives 3.2 MLD (Million Litres per day) as opposed to its requirement of 5.6 MLD. Due to this there is a constant water shortage for the residents. Recently a transformer at the pumping station blew up which further aggravated the problems. The Water department has also no backup incase of an emergency.