Shillong water crisis: Meghalaya CM treks for an hour to Um Jasai catchment area, takes stock of water situation

CM Conrad Sangma has urged people not to waste water and avoid economic activities near springs and catchment areas

Concerned about the prevailing water crisis in different parts of Meghalaya, particularly in capital Shillong, Chief Minister Conrad Sangma today trekked for nearly an hour to reach Um Jasai catchment water, the water intake source, for a first-hand account of the water situation.

After assessing the situation at um Jasai, Chief Minister Sangma backed the idea of tapping water from different sources of water under the Shillong Municipal Board and creation check dams.

“Most parts of the state is reeling under tremendous water shortage. We have decided to tap different springs, streams that are in the different cities and towns of the state should be tapped and we should rejuvenate them, try to store water as far as possible by using different technologies,” CM Sangma said.

He said, “We have just seen the water intake which is very low because of the weather conditions that we are facing. But in the last one and half years the different departments have been studying and working on how we could rejuvenate and improve the overall storage of these streams. So this is just one example. There are 7 such streams which are under the Shillong Municipal Board and many more which are there under different departments. Hence we can tap the water and ensure that we store them by simply creating a number of check dams in strategic locations, which would not only help us store the water, but will also help us to rejuvenate and improve the water retention in different springs and through-out this entire platform out here, and that would help the overall water conditions.”

Besides, the Meghalaya Chief Minister also urged people not to waste water and adopt steps like rain water harvesting. Conrad Sangma said that to get rid of the present situation, it is the responsibility of everyone as a society to work for common goals like water conservation.

CM Conrad Sangma said, “I would like to urge the citizens that apart from the government’s responsibility, it is our responsibility as a society to make interventions, ensure that the areas around the catchment areas, around the springs are not disturbed by different economic or mining activities. We should also try to ensure that we do not waste water at our own household level.”

Watch also: Water crisis in Shillong and parts of Meghalaya: CM Conrad reviews situation from ground zero

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