Dimapur, May 19 : A number of community organizations in Peren district have warned the minister for PHED that they would shut down the district’s PHE division if water supply to Peren town was not restored within 15 days. A joint statement from Peren’s councils, students and women communities, and traders, among others issued a copy of a representation addressed to Tokheho Yepthomi, Minister for Public Health Engineering.
The statement assured that the public of Peren are “ready to take up more extreme measures.” The public had undertaken a procession on May 20 to express anger and resentment against the government’s “lackadaisical attitude regarding total absence of drinking water from PHED, Peren since January 2016.” “Peren Town is not new to acute water scarcity and while concerned denizens, pressure groups and the Media had on several occasions highlighted the chronic problem faced by the public of the Town; the Government has turned a deaf ear to our woes till date,” the statement signed by the community groups’ leaderships stated.
The community has demanded that the minister constitute a “special investigation team” to “study and consider the matter with outmost urgency for restoration of clean water supply.” Failing to meet the demand would invite the public of Peren “to close down the department of PHED indefinitely.”
The statement complained that successive governments had assured ‘restoration of water supply’ to the town but had turned out to be “nothing but false promises.”
“Several months have passed and despite the several appeals and prayers, the public of Peren town has not received a drop of drinking water till date. We are ready to take up more extreme measures as the government had time and again failed to consider our genuine prayers despite the numerous petitions and representation highlighted before the government, both verbal and in written,” it added.
The statement was appended by the leaders of ‘chairman union,’ ‘PTYO,’ ‘PTWWO,’ ‘GBs Union’, ‘PDVCO,’ and ‘traders’ union.’