Jalpaiguri Zilla Parishad launches water ATM to solve drinking water woes

Jalpaiguri: The Jalpaiguri Zilla Parishad (ZP) has initiated the installation of water ATMs to address the drinking water problem in several tea gardens and Gram Panchayat (GP) areas within the district.

This initiative follows the formation of a permanent standing committee in the ZP last Wednesday, with an allocation of Rs 3 crore for the project. According to sources from the Janasastha-O-Paribesh Sthayee Samity of ZP, the initial plan includes installing 24 water ATMs to provide purified drinking water to local residents. This service will be offered completely free of charge and is expected to expand to more areas in the future.

The Public Health and Engineering (PHE) department has initiated the ‘Jal Swapna’ project on behalf of the state government, aiming to provide drinking water services to every home.

However, in Jalpaiguri, geographical challenges have hindered the delivery of water in some places due to the absence of underground boring. Consequently, following this year’s Panchayat elections, the full board of the Zilla Parishad has taken the initiative to resolve the issue. The problem has also been reported in several other locations, including the Champaguri GP area in the Nagrakata block, Jiti tea garden, Binnaguri GP area in the Banarhat block and Teshimola GP area in Malbazar block.

Mahua Gope, Karmadhakshya of Jalpaiguri ZP Janaswastha-O-Paribesh Sthayee Samity, stated: “The Jal Swapna project is working towards delivering drinking water directly to homes. However, due to geographical challenges in several blocks, we have encountered difficulties in water delivery in some areas, with ongoing work in others.”