Protest over water shortage in Theog, Kumarsain villages

Tribune News Service

Shimla, December 4

Theog legislator and senior CPM leader Rakesh Singha, Himachal Kisan Sabha president Dr Kuldip Tanwar and loals today staged a dharna in front of the IPH Department’s engineer-in-chief’s office here.

They said residents of Theog were reeling under acute water shortage due to the indifferent attitude of the department. The protesters demanded that the latter should provide staff and get pipes laid to tide over the crisis in Theog and Kumarsain.

After the protest, the engineer-in-chief held a meeting with department engineers and invited Singha and Tanwar for talks, which failed.

The CPM leader said the IPH Department should fill 65 per cent of the vacant posts in the IPH division at Matiana and arrange pipes and pumps to supply water to hundreds of villages in Theog and Kumarsain.

Singha said the old water schemes had failed to supply water to the villages as the pipes needed to be replaced.

With the Halai-Majhouti scheme collapsing, villagers in four gram panchayats are getting water after 15 days.

“Villagers of four panchayats — Sandhu, Kamah, Basa Theog and Sarun — are without water,” said Sandeep Verma, a Kisan Sabha leader from Theog.

“In Karana, two employees of the department are looking after the Mera-Sohavi scheme. There are no pipes and the villagers have to walk 3 km to get water,” Singha said.

Villages like Chunjar, Barar, Mahsu and Taich Sohnalvi get water after 10 to 15 days as the Darjali-Dhar scheme is in ruins and has no pipes to lift water.

“Two IPH schemes — Tatal-Mehog and Raich Khud-Shiladhar — have been under construction for the last 15 years. Leaking water tanks aggravate the situation,” he said.

The villagers complained that the department first laid the pipelines and then constructed the water tanks, which were of poor quality.

Action should be taken against erring officials. Tanwar said the dharna would continue till the department accepted their demands.