Over 50% of border outposts (BOPs) have no piped water and the soldiers manning the posts get water from tankers. Yuvraj Shrimal walks an extra mile to unearth the situation
This information was provided by Union minister Kiren Rijiju in the Lok Sabha while replying to a question raised by members C Gopalakrishanan, K Parshuram and P Nagarajan on the water crisis along the border.
Rijiju said that the BSF is manning 293 BOPs along the lndo-Pakistan border in western Rajasthan. “Out of this, water is available in 129 outposts only through pipelines,” said the minister in his reply. But in the remaining posts, tankers have been engaged to quench the thirst of the security personnel. The number of BOPs having drinking water pipeline is nearly 43% while the rest 57 posts are meeting their water requirements through tankers.
The minister said that out of the 129 posts having piped water, there are 31 posts wherein works relating to drinking water supply were approved under the Annual Action Plan of Border Area Development Programme (BADP) during the year 2014.
“Sufficient water supply is being made available to the remaining BOPs through water tankers,” said the minister. The minister’s reply clearly suggests that BSF personnel, guarding the 270-km-long India-Pakistan border in western Rajasthan, are grappling with a drinking water crisis. This crisis may deepen as summer reaches its peak in May and June. At the border, the BSF guards brace with temperature over 50 degrees Celsius. This is mainly in Barmer, Jaisalmer and Bikaner districts.
PHED sources inform that the department is working to meet the water requirements of BOPs by fetching water through tankers in nearby areas. Each outpost needs about 20 tankers in a month.
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