Darjeeling, July 3: The Darjeeling municipality has signed a memorandum of agreement with the state government to revamp the drinking water distribution in the civic area.
The Rs 192-crore project will be implemented once the Centre gives its nod for the funds.
Amar Singh Rai, the chairman of the Darjeeling municipality, said according to the memorandum of agreement signed with the state urban development department in Calcutta recently, the Centre would be approached to provide 80 per cent of the funds for the project under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission.
According to the project report, the municipality would construct 30 water tanks to cover all 32 municipality wards of Darjeeling.
“The project also entails setting up of 14 pumping stations, relaying the entire water pipe line network and introducing water meters both for commercial and domestic purposes,” Rai said.
“According to the agreement, the state government will give 15 per cent of the grant, while five per cent of the total cost will be borne by the Darjeeling municipality. The state government will approach the Centre for the remaining 80 per cent of the funds,” Rai said.
“The ground work has been done and the state government is looking at getting funds under the urban integrated development scheme for small and medium towns. This scheme falls under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission. The detailed project report has already been finalised,” Rai added.
The civic body has decided to streamline the Darjeeling water distribution system as it is currently in a complete mess.
The present water supply network was laid in the 1930s and 1940s and has become haphazard over years with the addition of new connections. Moreover, there are no metres for both private and commercial buildings at present.
“We are of the opinion that almost 40 per cent of the water lines in the town are illegal. Once the system is revamped, we are confident there will be no illegal connections in the town. A proper system would also ensure that water will flow evenly to all consumers,” Rai said.
At the moment, there are complaints that during summer, some houses get water almost all day, while the supply is available to others only once a week.
The civic body is taking the initiative to revamp the distribution network at a time the Balasun drinking water project is nearing completion.
The Rs 55.86-crore Balasun project was first mooted in the early 1990s to rid Darjeeling of its perennial water scarcity.
The foundation of the project was laid on February 19, 2006, and the commissioning was delayed because of several factors.
The state’s public health engineering department, which is supervising the scheme, had earlier cited political instability in the hills and the failure to obtain a no-objection certificate from the army to lay pipes in the military areas of Jalapahar and Kattapahar in Darjeeling as reasons for the delay.
“The army has already given its permission to lay water pipes in its area. There is a slight modification and pipes will now be laid through the Alubari road, instead of the road leading to the army cantonment at Jalapahar. The work is currently on and the project should be completed within a few months,” said Rai.
The Balasun project has been envisaged to supply two million gallons of water a day to Darjeeling from the Balasun river through two pumping stations.
The project is supposed to ensure the supply for 16 hours a day. The Balasun water will be first pumped to two lakes at Senchel, from where it will flow to three reservoirs, two in St Paul’s area and one at Rockville.
Of the three reservoirs, two are already part of the present distribution system. The third one is being built in St Paul’s area.
शिक्षक प्रमुखको लापारवाहीको कारण बेहाल अवस्थामा चम्पामाया प्रथमिक पाठशाला
पहाड़को प्रथमिक पाठशालाहरु एका एक बन्द हुनुमा सरकार पक्ष दोषी छ कि शिक्षक-शिक्षिकाहरुको लापारवाही? किन दार्जीलिङ पहाड़को शैक्षिक स्तर दिनोदिन खस्किन्दै गइरहेको छ? प्रथमिक शिक्षा बाल-बालिकाहरुको निम्ति महत्तवपूर्ण हुँदा-हुँदै पनि किन आजसम्म पहाड़को शिक्षा व्यवस्थामा सुधार आउन सकिरहेको छैन?
राजनीति गर्दिनँ भन्नु पनि अर्को राजनीति होः हर्कबहादुर छेत्री
मेरो अधिकारक्षेत्रभित्र पाँच बर्षको लागि जनताको हितको काम गर् भनेर मलाई भोट हालेको हो नि। मलाई थाहा छ यसले जनताको धेरै हित हुन्छ। यसले जनताको हितसँगै पार्टीको पनि हित हुन्छ, आन्दोलनलाई पनि सहयोग पुर्याउँछ भनेपछि एकदम निसंकोच भनेर अघि बढ्न सक्छु म। म त्यही काम गर्दैछु।
बघिनी फेरि पुरानै खोरमा
‘समयले मानिसलाई कहाँ कहाँ पुर्याउँछ,,,,,,’ कुनै समय रेडियो नेपालबाट बजिरहने यो चर्चित गीतले मान्छेको जीवनमा प्रणयसम्बन्धको आरोह अवरोहले पार्ने प्रभावलाई सुन्दर ढंगले व्याख्या गरेको छ। यो लोकप्रिय गीतको यही एक हरफ कुनै राजनीतिकर्मीको जीवनसँग गाँसेर हेर्दा के उत्तर पाइएला?
साहित्य अनि सर्जकलाई माया गर्ने घिसिङ
80 को दशकमा देशभरिका गोर्खाहरूलाई जातित्वको भावना उत्पन्न गराउने प्रथम नेता सुवास घिसिङको निधनले अहिले घड़ी सम्पूर्ण दार्जीलिङ पहाड़ नै स्तब्ध बनेको छ। गोर्खाहरूका हित अनि अस्तित्वका निम्ति छुट्टै राज्यको बहस लिएर सुवास धिसिङले त्यसताक पहाड़का प्रत्येक गाँऊहरूको भ्रमण गरेका थिए। 22 जुन 1936 सालमा मिरिकको मञ्जु चियाबगानमा जन्म लिएरका सुवास घिसिङले आफ्नो तर्क राख्न एकलै जनसभा गर्थे। घिसिङले सम्पूर्ण गोर्खाहरूलाई एकै शुत्रमा बाँध्न "गोर्खाल्याण्ड" शब्दको जन्म गरेका थिए।
निराश छन् विधायक डा. छेत्री
“बजट सत्रमा के कुराहरू उठान गर्नु पर्ने भन्नेबारे हामीले जीटीएबाट कहिले फिडब्याक पाएका छैनौं” डा छेत्रीले भने। डा हर्कबहादुर छेत्री मोर्चाका प्रवक्ता हुन् अनि कालेबुङका जनप्रतिनिधि। दुइवटा महत्वपूर्ण पदमा बसेका डा छेत्रीलाई अहिलेसम्म जीटीएको बैठकमा निम्ताइएको छैन, पार्टीको राजनैतिक लाइनबारे उनीसँग चर्चा र छलफल नगरिएको त झन कति भयो, उनैलाई हेक्का छैन।
