Shillong, Jan 25: Despite Meghalaya being the Wettest Place on the Planet on receiving the highest rainfall, the state continues to face problems of water shortage.

Even being the Wettest Place on Earth, people in Shillong have to stand in a queue to get drinking water or spend a good amount of money to buy drinking water.

One of the affected areas in Shillong is Laban, where the residents have long complained that the common scenario is broken pipelines are rarely repaired on time forcing the people to collect water from the broken part of the pipes.

To stop wastage of water and ensure people get drinking water, South Shillong legislator Sanbor Shullai on Monday laid the foundation stone for the construction of the aqueduct channel along the road at Harisabha Laban.

The project was sanctioned at Rs 1.37 crore under PWD general state scheme.

It also includes improvement of blacktop and cement concrete rigid pavement, re-sectioning of drains by providing water interceptor over the drain and cross drain and repairing/replacement of weak slab cover over the existing drain.

Speaking on the occasion, Shullai informed that three months ago, the concerned residents from the locality and adjoining areas had sought his intervention into the need to address the problem of water scarcity due to leakage of water pipes.

“As a local MLA it is my duty to look into the grievances of the people. However, there is a long process for any project to start as the concerned department does take time to release the funds,” he said.

“I am very keen in bringing more and more developmental projects but the people should also understand that it does take time to get necessary sanction,” Shullai said.

Highlighting the number of schemes which have been completed in the constituency, the MLA said that he managed to get sanction of over Rs 28 crore for implementing various water supply schemes under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT).

According to him, there are many projects which will be implemented very soon for the benefit of the people of the constituency.

Shullai said that the main reason for the problem of water scarcity was due to increasing population.

“However, we will come out with a permanent solution by tapping one of the identified water sources in order to provide round the clock water supply to the people of the constituency,” he added.