HMC starts helpline to address drinking water woes

Kolkata: The Howrah Municipal Corporation (HMC) has started a helpline to help the residents of the municipality get rid of the drinking water crisis. The helpline is meant for the residents of wards 1 to 50. Later, the facility will be made available in all the 66 wards. The helpline will give answers to the queries related to the drinking water problem, from 6 am to 9 pm on a daily basis.

The facility was inaugurated on Monday. Senior civic officials said the initiative will benefit the residents immensely, particularly those living in the pockets where there is acute drinking water problem during summer.

HMC has already undertaken elaborate plans to address the drinking water crisis in Howrah. Water reservoirs are being constructed in different wards of central Howrah and once they are ready, the drinking water crisis in the area will become a matter of the past.

It may be mentioned that after coming to power in 2011, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had instructed all the civic bodies to take steps to provide drinking water to the residents. She had also stated that no water tax would be imposed.