Sikkim: Gangtok water supply to resume from April 25 after five days of disruption

The residents of Gangtok can breathe a sigh of relief as the water supply, which was disrupted for the past five days, is set to resume from April 25. The disruption was caused by the damage to the pipeline supplying drinking water from Rateychu due to a cloud burst on April 19. The Rateychu water supply pipelines are the sole source of water for Gangtok, and the disruption had caused inconvenience and difficulties for the residents, as well as for hotels and businesses during the peak tourist season.

According to Bindeshwari Prasad, PCE cum Secretary of the PHE (Public Health Engineering) department, one of the 14-inch pipelines has been restored and supplied water to Selep on April 24. Another 14-inch pipe laying is nearing completion and, subject to weather conditions at the site, water may be supplied by tomorrow morning, thereby resuming the water supply to Gangtok after five days of continuous restoration work.

When questioned about the recurrence of such crises and the lack of a permanent solution, Secretary Prasad stated, "We have already submitted our DPR (Detailed Project Report) to the Ministry of Urban Development for an alternative water solution from B2 river in north Sikkim, and we are waiting for the next steps."

It's worth mentioning that Gangtok has a daily demand of 15 to 16 million liters of water, which increases to 20 million liters during the peak tourist season. The disruption of water supply had caused immense difficulties for the residents, who were forced to buy drinking water, while authorities distributed water in various councils to meet the water demand. Many people also had to travel to nearby streams to fetch water during late nights and early mornings.

The hoteliers in Gangtok also faced challenges in providing water facilities to their guests and had to incur heavy expenses to arrange water supply from alternative sources. With Gangtok being a popular tourist destination, the disruption of water supply had a significant impact on the hospitality industry during the peak season.