With the onset of summer season, the problem of depleting ground water level has begun to haunt the authorities concerned. Considering the brunt of scorching summer in the last three years, the Ranchi Municipal Corporation (RMC) and the district administration have yet again devised  several measures to tackle the problem of water crisis in the State Capital.

From launching a helpline number for registering the water crisis grievances to mending all the faulty hand-pumps, the Ranchi district administration and RMC are on toes to provide adequate water to the city residents during the summer season.

Besides the regular ways like ensuring uninterrupted water supply through water reservoirs to get rid of the problem of water crisis, appointment of the nodal officers, widening the reach of the water tankers and vehicles to far flung areas in the Capital city is also on the cards.

A helpline number (0651-2213022) has been launched by the Department of Water and Sanitation to aid the city residents.

A dedicated control room has been set up in the district. Complaints registered through the landline number will be resolved by Executive Engineers (EE) in a specified time. The number will be functional on all days of the week, from 8 AM to 8 PM.

The Deputy Commissioner has instructed the officers-in-charge to ensure the disposal of all complaints in a particular time while maintaining a proper record of the cases.

The control rooms will be set up at the block headquarters as well.

In accordance to the plan, details like name, phone numbers of the nodal officers including the ward councilors must be put up on the notice boards at the offices of respective Block Level Officers (BLOs) and Circle Officers (COs) for the convenience of the public.

In addition, the officials have been instructed to prepare detailed sheets, comprising the facts of a particular area, number of faulty hand-pumps, condition of deep-borewells for prompt response. On the other hand, Mayor Asha Lakra including other senior officials of the Municipal Corporation has initiated brainstorming on the measures to beat the summer heat.

The Mayor said, “After consulting the officers at RMC Water Board, a consolidated report will be prepared by the ward councilors about the status of water supply, availability of water tankers and condition of hand-pumps at their respective wards. The RMC will release a daily list of each ward where water will be supplied through the tankers from April. Date, time will be also mentioned in the list.”

According to RMC record, covering all the 53 wards, there are more than 3,000 hand-pumps. “Workers will be engaged soon in the repairing work of the hand-pumps after getting the report from the ward councilors. Moreover, the Municipal Corporation, this year will keep a strict vigilance on illegal deep-boring as without getting the consent of RMC, deep-boring has been strictly prohibited within the RMC jurisdiction,” Lakra added.