Port Blair, Jan. 4: Picture shows the over choked perennial nallah (stream) at Prothrapur Village near Palm Grove Eco Resort. The Zilla Parishad under the Chairmanship of Shri Chidambaram had once tried to convert this perennial stream into a concrete drain, which received much protested by the villagers and Andaman Chronicle few years ago.

This stream once used to be the main source of water for the entire residents of Prothrapur and nearby villages. The water in this source was not only used for irrigation and feeding cattle but also served as regular source of drinking water a decade ago. It used to breed fishes and sweet water prawns in it, which was a regular diet of the villagers. 

In times of emergency, when Port Blair city faced acute water shortage few years ago, water was being supplied from this very source to the city dwellers and also to the hotels.

Today the pitiable condition of this water source is that it has been lying chocked with plastic bottles and human waste for more than a year. There are no more fishes in it and the water has turned poisonous.

The Zilla Parishad especially the Prothrapur Panchayat has been keeping mum over the matter in spite of repeated complaints from the residents. The villagers hope that atleast in this New Year, the Panchayat would wake from its deep sleep and clear the mess that has been accumulating in this water source.