Agartala, April 02, 2026: Resentment is mounting among residents of Nonachhara ADC Village under Mungiakami Block as potable water continues to remain unavailable in households despite nearly four years having passed since the launch of a multi-crore drinking water project under Jal Jeevan Mission.

The project, implemented under the Atal Jal Jeevan Mission (Har Ghar Jal), was introduced with the objective of supplying safe drinking water to every household in the area through an extensive pipeline network. According to local sources, a water treatment plant was also constructed in the village at a cost running into crores of rupees. However, residents allege that despite the infrastructure being put in place, water has yet to flow through the pipelines.

Villagers said that although construction progressed rapidly during the initial phase, the work later came to a standstill. While pipelines were laid across several habitations, the system was never made functional, leaving households without the promised water supply.

As a result, local residents continue to depend on distant wells, hill streams and other alternative sources to meet their daily drinking water needs. They said the prolonged delay has caused severe hardship and increased health concerns, particularly during dry periods.

Amid growing public frustration, Sunil Debbarma, a local citizen and Chairman of the Block Advisory Committee of Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura in Mungiakami Block, recently visited the area to inspect the project.

Speaking to the media after the visit, he said it was alarming that such an important public welfare project had remained non-functional for years despite significant expenditure.

“If people do not receive the benefits of a project even after crores of rupees have been spent, it clearly reflects administrative failure,” he said.

Debbarma also pointed out that the drinking water issue was not the only problem affecting the area. He highlighted poor road conditions, irregular electricity supply and inadequate healthcare services, saying residents were facing multiple hardships in daily life.

He urged the concerned department to take immediate steps to operationalise the water project and ensure that drinking water reaches every household without further delay.

Local residents have meanwhile demanded urgent administrative intervention, warning that continued inaction would defeat the purpose of the Har Ghar Jal initiative and leave villagers deprived of a basic necessity.