Indian Express 15.04.2010
Help a call away in parched Dahod, Panchmahals
Vadodara: Helpline started after Dahod Cong MP protested before collector on Monday; Panchmahals service operational for a week
With handpumps and borewells running dry in various parts of Panchmahals and Dahod, the Gujarat Water Supply and Sewerage Board (GWSSB) has launched helpline service in these districts. The service will allow people to register complaints with the department.
District officials say the helpline will be connected to the control rooms of the GWSSB teams, thereby allowing them to attend to repairs.
In Panchmahals, the helpline (02672-241941) has been functional for the last one week, said GWSSB Executive Engineer P K Dani. He said they have been getting about five to six calls everyday since the start of the helpline.
Dani said: “Although a drought-like condition is still far away, things will be difficult if there is no rain. Keeping these issues in mind, for the first time we decided to start a control room, which will work as a helpline for the affected people. The water crisis is mainly due to scarce rainfall last year.” He said 467 villages, where the handpumps have been installed, will be covered by the helpline, adding that most of the calls came from the interior areas where the handpumps have stopped working.
“Since the start of the helpline, we have received calls only about handpumps that are not working or are drying up in the interior areas,” said Dani, adding that the calls were mainly from Kadana and Santrampur taluka, which serves as a catchment area of the Kadana Dam on the Mahi.
“Most handpumps are not working in Santrampur and Kadana. Teams have been sent to these areas to take note of the situation,” added Dani. He further said that about 40 teams have been formed to take care of the situation.
Meanwhile, the helpline number for Dahod (02673-242165) was announced on Wednesday following Monday’s protest at the collectorate by Congress MP Dr Prabha Taviyad. She had submitted a memorandum to Dahod District Collector Lochan Shehera saying that 65 per cent of the handpumps in the district were not working. On Wednesday, Shehera handed over a letter to Dr Taviyad.
