LUCKNOW: Western UP and NCR region may face water shortage as the upper Ganga canal – which is the major source of water to these regions – will be shut down for 20 days from October 25 night. Irrigation department will carry out maintenance, repair and restoration work across the canal. Officials said though the canal mainly caters to irrigation needs of the region, efforts were underway to decipher nature and extent of impact on drinking water supply as well.
The irrigation department will start blocking the water supply to the canal at the Bhimgoda barrage in Uttarakhand.
Post-monsoon season the canal is shut down for maintenance annually as required for desilting, maintenance, repairs and restoration works. Spanning over 292-km the canal caters to 15 districts of UP in its course. The supply will be restored on or before November 12, said the officials, so that farmers in west UP get enough water to irrigate the agricultural fields ahead of the Rabi crop season.
During the inspection of the canal in September, officials found silt deposits in the canal. The parallel canal system also required some civil repair works while some ghats built at Har Ki Pauri in Haridwar were also found damaged.
Noida Authority and Ghaziabad Development Authority, meanwhile, will have to make arrangements to provide more groundwater after treating it to the households till the time supply resumes as per the schedule.
Brajesh Sharma, a resident of Sector 78 in Noida, said, “The quality of groundwater is extremely poor in Noida and hence it is diluted with the Ganga water before being supplied to the households. If authorities are not able to provide water then residential societies will have to arrange for private tankers to meet water demand.”
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