United Democratic Party leader Jemino Mawthoh has expressed concern about the water crisis faced by urban areas in the state, especially Shillong.
“What have the PHE (Public Health Engineering), the Water Resources Departments, etc, who are supposed to look into the matter, done? Are the catchment areas being protected? With the ever-growing population and increasing demand for water supply, we are heading for a water crisis if things are not looked at as a priority,” he told Highland Post.
Stating that people in the city are buying water every day and everywhere, Mawthoh said he fails to understand why, despite adequate rainfall and numerous water bodies, the people are facing a water crisis.
“Why can we have other projects in other places, just like the Greater Shillong Water Supply scheme at Mawphlang,” he said, adding that everything is lacking right from civic amenities to drainage systems, footpaths, street lighting, etc, and the time may come when the whole of Shillong is declared a slum.
“I’m apprehensive that one day there will be a saying that the slum of the North East is here in Shillong,” he stated.
