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A sudden halt in drinking water supply affected parts of Mango on Sunday morning, igniting public ire during a significant festive period. In response, Saryu Roy, the MLA for Jamshedpur West, made an unannounced visit to the Mango Water Supply Project’s intake well. He also examined the water storage tank at Prithvi Park and sent his aides to the water treatment plant, the nerve center for supplying reservoirs across different localities.
After a thorough inspection, Mr. Roy identified the root cause of the water outage as negligence on the part of project officials and the appointed contractor. He declared his commitment to formally charge the Executive Engineer of the water supply department with negligence once the holidays conclude, seeking stringent government action. Additionally, he proposed recommending the blacklisting of the Mango Water Supply Project contractor.
At the intake well, Mr. Roy discovered it was clogged with silt, suggesting a severe neglect of cleaning protocols. He immediately directed the Deputy Municipal Commissioner of Mango Nagar Nigam to commence cleaning. Following the removal of silt, the water flow was restored. Subsequently, at the Prithvi Park tank, employees reported that water from the treatment plant was being supplied irregularly. They indicated that the contractor only delivered water to this specific tank two to three times a week, a situation exacerbated by the apparent indifference of the Drinking Water and Sanitation Department officials.
During his review of the water treatment plant, Mr. Roy observed discriminatory water allocation by the contractor’s staff. Certain neighborhoods were receiving preferential treatment, leading to reduced supply in areas with greater festive season needs. When confronted, the contractor cited ‘superior orders’ for this practice and expressed an inability to change it. However, the Executive Engineer of the drinking water department denied the existence of any such orders, suggesting a collusion between the contractor and departmental authorities was likely behind the inequitable distribution and the public’s hardship during festivals. Mr. Roy has formally requested the Deputy Municipal Commissioner to launch a probe into the matter and hold the guilty parties accountable.