With many residents of Mokokchung Town expressing their dismay over the lack of water supply through government tap connections for the past several months, the PHED department has cited lack of water supply sources along with other reasons for the cause of the problem.
Temsu, a resident of Salangtem Ward said, “I can’t even remember when was the last time we received water from the tap connection in our house. It must have been almost a year.”
He also said that even though they are not getting the water supply, they are still receiving the water bill from the department.
Rachel, another resident for the same ward, echoed Temsu’s complaint.
“We are receiving bills which I assume is not just the initial charges that are billed for the connection. It’s too much considering that we don’t get a single drop of water,” she said.
“But we have been paying the bills since we don’t want to lose our tap connection,” she added.
While lashing out at the department, a resident of Alempang Ward said that, even without services rendered, the authorities have been taxing the public mercilessly.
“There has been no supply of water for the previous 5-6 months and now they have the audacity to send Seven Days Notice to pay the bill,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Executive Engineer of the Mokokchung Division of the PHED explained the issue saying “there is nowhere close to the required water sources to be provided to the entire households in the town.”
There are only two water supply sources in the area, of which one is designated for Mokokchung Village and the other one which is allocated for the town has been facing many issues.
The official said that the water source at Chari area (Tuensang) is solely designated for Mokokchung Village while the Angetyongpang source is designated for the Mokokchung Town area.
He said that the Angetyongpang source has been adversely affected by the ongoing earth cutting works for the two-lane road as well as the major landslide at Impur junction a few months back.
“The discharge from the Angetyongpang source is very less,” he added.
On being asked what is being done to tackle the problem of water woes, he said, “Proposals have been sent to the higher authorities, we are waiting on that.”
On being inquired with regards to billing customers without water supply, he suggested that one should report to the Sub Divisional Officer in case of any discrepancies or issues. “They can also come speak to me,” he added.
On the Seven Days Notice, he said that the month of March marks the end of the financial year which leads to the closure of all accounts, which might be the reason for issuing Seven Days Notice to collect backlogged arrears.