‘Jal Swapna’: Work on to build 2 reservoirs in Cooch Behar dist
COOCH BEHAR: Reservoirs are being constructed in the Dinhatar Vettaguri no. 1 Gram Panchayat under the ‘Jal Swapna’ project. In a bid to supply drinking water to rural households pipelines are laid in the area.
Two new reservoirs are being constructed in the villages of Ruerkuthi and Kharijabaladanga.
The District Public Health Engineering department has initiated the drinking water supply project by building separate reservoirs at a cost of approximately Rs 6 crore in these two villages.
Furthermore, the laying of pipelines to ensure the water supply to the villages has commenced, with the goal of completing the project by 2024. Once finished, around 20,000 families in Bhetaguri 1 Gram Panchayat will benefit from this drinking water initiative.
According to sources from the Public Health Engineering department, 2 lakh families in the Cooch Behar district will receive drinking water connections during the current financial year, with an expenditure of Rs 300 crore. Out of these, 70 thousand families have already been provided with drinking water connections. Previously, Kharijabala Danga village in Vettaguri relied on a reservoir located in a neighboring Gram Panchayat area for their drinking water supply. Unfortunately, the supply was discontinued for four years, causing inconvenience to the residents of Bhetaguri 1 Gram Panchayat.
Ratan Barman, the Panchayat Pradhan of Betaguri 1 Gram Panchayat, stated: “We have two villages in our area, and one of them, Kharijabaladanga, used to receive drinking water from a reservoir in a neighboring Gram Panchayat. However, due to the expansion of state highways, the pipelines had to be removed, resulting in the discontinuation of the water supply. Under the state government’s ‘Jal Swapna’ project, efforts have begun to provide drinking water to both villages. Once this work is completed, we will no longer face any drinking water problems in the area.”