Teesta water turns turbid, Siliguri reels under drinking water crisis

Siliguri residents have been facing a severe drinking water crisis for the past two days, triggered by heavy rainfall and flooding in Sikkim.

The rising Teesta river is carrying excessive muddy water downstream, hampering the Siliguri Municipal Corporation’s (SMC) ability to treat and supply potable water on time.

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According to sources, the SMC lacks adequate infrastructure—particularly a dedicated sedimentation pond under the public health engineering (PHE) department—to store raw water and allow sediment to settle before treatment. As a result, the civic body was forced to suspend water supply on Monday after failing to purify the turbid water adequately.

Deputy mayor Ranjan Sarkar explained the root cause of the disruption, while mayor Goutam Deb visited the raw water intake point earlier today to assess the situation first-hand. Mr Deb also met with PHE engineers and directed them to resolve the issue urgently to restore normal water supply.

Meanwhile, both the BJP and the CPI-M-led Left Front staged demonstrations in front of the SMC office, accusing the Trinamul Congress-led board of mismanagement and failure to ensure basic services. Although water tankers were dispatched to various neighbourhoods by the SMC in coordination with the PHE, the supply has fallen short of meeting residents’ needs.

Frustrated with the ongoing shortage, local residents have begun staging protests in several areas, joining political parties in demanding immediate solutions.