Agartala: About 90 per cent of the total drinking water intake supplied through the state government-owned Drinking Water and Sanitation (DWS) Department in Tripura is sourced from underground. The rest is compensated from various surface water sources like rivers, rivulets and small streams, secretary to Tripura DWS department Kiran Gitte said on Saturday.
Briefing the media persons at the Civil secretariat on the state’s achievement in Jal Jeevan Mission, He said, “In Tripura, the climatic conditions are such that surface water sources can’t provide water round the year. In certain seasons, the rivers and rivulets get dried up. So, 90 per cent of the drinking water intake of Tripura supplied through government networks is extracted from underground.”
Replying to a query regarding the status of Tripura’s water source being utilised under the Jal Jeevan Mission, the official said there are three major sources of water in Tripura. “There are altogether 72 surface water treatment plants across the state and about 30,000 people are dependent on that. But, in most cases, surface water sources can’t suffice the requirement around the year. So, 90 per cent of the water requirement is met up through groundwater extraction. According to the reports of the Central Ground Water Board, only 8 per cent of the total groundwater reserve is being extracted. Since we don’t have any major industry and neither have we used groundwater for irrigation in large-sale, the use is comparatively lesser if compared to other states,” said Gitte.
Apart from that, he said, rainwater harvesting is the third source of water used for areas where both groundwater and surface water sources are inaccessible.
On the other hand, Minister of the department Sushanta Chowdhury who also happens to be the cabinet spokesman said Tripura has secured the 16th rank among all the states of the country and bagged the fifth position in the north-eastern region for the implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission.
According to the minister, as many as 3,82,475 households out of 7,60,052, 50.32 per cent of the target, get water connection under the programme.
“Taking note of the state’s performance, the ministry of Jal Shakti has rewarded the Tripura government with Rs 100 crore. While the national average is 48 per cent, the state has covered above 50 per cent of the target,” the minister added.