Baijnath faces water shortage

Our Correspondent               

Palampur, July 30

Baijnath town and its satellite areas, with a population of over 20,000, are without potable water for the past 48 hours following damage to pipelines and heavy inflow of silt into water tanks.

Residents of Baijnath town on Monday protested over the issue. 

In many localities, long queues were seen in front of hand pumps and natural water sources. Baijnath, Ganesh Bazar, Girtholi and Pantehar, which are thickly populated, are the worst hit as there are fewer hand pumps, which failed to meet the requirements of the residents.

The Executive Engineer, Irrigation and Public Health Department (IPH), Palampur, said following heavy rain in Dhauladhar hills, water supply pipes had been damaged so the IPH Department had to suspend the water supply.

The field employees of the Irrigation and Public Health Department  were working round the clock and in the next 24 hours the supply was likely to be restored.

He said the department was well aware of the problems of the public, it was closely monitoring the situation.