Around 1.80 crore people living in 49 cities and 8,294 villages in the 10 western districts of Rajasthan might face drinking water crisis onwards April 25. The Punjab government has issued a notification to shut the Indira Gandhi Canal – the most important source of drinking water for these 10 districts – for almost 30 days.
The notification states that the government will partially close the canal from March 26 to April 24 and then would completely close it from April 25 to May 24.
“The complete closure will hit water supply in these 10 districts. We have made all necessary arrangements for residents. Hopefully, there will not be any water crisis during the complete closure period,” declared Neeraj Mathur, PHED’s chief engineer, Jodhpur.
The 10 districts include: Bikaner, Barmer, Hanumangarh, Sriganganagar, Churu, Nagaur, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Sikar and Jhunjhunu. Officials, however, added there will very less impact on Sikar and Jhunjhunu during this period.
Elaborating further, Mathus stated that the each year, Punjab government closes the canal for 30 days, including partial closure for 15 days, to undertake repair and maintenance work. As per norms, during the partial closure, Punjab government supplies 2,000 cusecs every day and PHED officials in the state are directed to save water for consumption during the complete closure period.
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