Water crisis grips Mandi City amid rain as slush hits supply schemes, many houses haven’t got a drop for 3 days
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MANDI: A severe water crisis has struck Mandi city, leaving many areas without water for up to three days. The situation is not expected to improve over the next two days, according to local authorities. Residents are increasingly turning to natural water sources or private tankers to meet their daily needs.
Anshul Malhotra, a hotel owner, shared his struggles, stating that he has been ordering water tankers twice a day for the past two days to keep his hotel running. “It’s a challenging situation.
We are spending out of pocket to get water,” Malhotra said. Local businesswoman Ramindra Kaur said that her tanks have only a day’s worth of water left and if the situation does not improve, they will run out of water by tomorrow.
Local residents, including Naresh Vaidya, Renuka Arora, Pawan Thakur and Shamsher Thakur, expressed their frustration. “We don’t have water for cooking or preparing children for school or even washing up before work,” they said.
They have appealed to the government and the water department to restore the water supply promptly to avoid further inconvenience.
Rohit Dubey, Superintendent Engineer of the Jal Shakti Department, explained that the water supply from the Uhl and Beas rivers has been disrupted due to excessive sediment.
“The Uhl water project at Raighari is submerged ten to twelve feet under water and sediment has accumulated in the trash rack,” Dubey said. This situation will persist until the water level decreases.
Dubey noted that the Uhl project faced a similar issue last year, but no solution has been found due to the jurisdiction of the Uhl Hydro Power Project. “Alternative measures to lift water to the main tank have been taken, but they are not effective enough to normalize the situation,” he added.
The department is working diligently to ensure water supply. “By this afternoon, water supply has been restored in some parts of Mandi city. However, due to the limited amount of water that can be lifted, we are distributing water proportionately to all wards based on need,” Dubey assured. He urged residents to increase their storage capacity according to their household needs.
The department promises that the water supply will be fully resumed from tomorrow, providing much-needed relief to the beleaguered residents of Mandi city.
