At nearly 90 years old, a British era water tank needed some attention in order to continue to provide water to the people of Laban, Madan Laban and even Raj Bhavan.
Constructed in 1936, more than a decade before independence, the water tank was revived today with the symbolic opening of the taps that sent water through new pipes into the community.
The old water pipes had started leaking and needed replacement. Local MLA Sanbor Shullai informed reporters that the replacement of pipes has been funded under the central government’s Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) and implemented jointly by the state Public Health Engineering (PHE) Department and Shillong Municipal Board (SMB) at a cost of Rs 7.74 crore.
Shullai along with locality headmen and officials from the PHE Department released the water through new pipes in a small ceremony today.
“Residents of the locality have been concerned with the rise of guest houses and big buildings coming up as this meant that water demand would increase,” mentioned Shullai.
Gordon Lyngdoh, Superintendent of Water Works at the SMB said that the water tank has a storage of 5.24 lakh litres. The headman of Madan Laban, I Sun, mentioned how this tank provides water to Raj Bhavan and Lady Hydari Park and localities in the Laban area. He said that it is a blessing that this scheme has been implemented.
