Dharmanagar: The Dharmanagar Block Youth Congress on Wednesday staged a one-hour mass sit-in and deputation programme in front of the Dharmanagar DWS Division Executive Engineer’s office, demanding clean drinking water and alleging large-scale irregularities in the implementation of the Centre’s Jal Jeevan Mission scheme.
The Youth Congress alleged that despite huge sums being spent under the “Har Ghar Nal Se Jal” initiative since 2019, there is a wide gap between official expenditure records and actual work on the ground. They claimed a significant portion of pipelines shown as laid underground were never actually installed, and that several water treatment plants set up under the scheme now lie defunct, with some supplying iron-laden, untreated water.
Youth Congress leaders alleged that consumption of this water has caused waterborne illnesses among residents of all age groups. They demanded a vigilance investigation into the role of officials and engineers linked to the project between 2019 and 2023, along with a scrutiny of their income-expenditure records for disproportionate assets.
The organisation warned that its agitation would continue until adequate, clean drinking water reaches every household in Dharmanagar sub-division.