The Hynniewtrep Youth Council (HYC) has urged the Meghalaya government to order a high-level technical and administrative audit of the Shillong water supply system, citing a prolonged and worsening water crisis caused by repeated pipeline failures and alleged administrative negligence.
In a letter submitted to Public Health Engineering (PHE) Minister Marcuise N Marak, HYC vice president Francis G Mawlong called for immediate government intervention to address what he described as a chronic civic crisis affecting thousands of residents across Shillong.
The HYC has demanded a comprehensive audit of the city’s water supply infrastructure, along with a time-bound replacement of obsolete and failure-prone pipelines. The organisation also sought fixing of responsibility for repeated lapses, disciplinary action against erring officials, and long-term planning to prevent recurring breakdowns.
Expressing serious concern over frequent water supply disruptions, Mawlong said entire localities are often left without drinking water for days, causing severe hardship, especially to elderly residents, children, and the sick.
According to the HYC, the crisis is the result of years of neglect, poor infrastructure planning, lack of preventive maintenance, and absence of accountability within the PHE Department.
“Temporary patchwork repairs have become the norm, only to be followed by yet another breakdown. This reflects a complete disregard for sustainable solutions and public convenience,” Mawlong stated.
He further emphasized that access to clean and uninterrupted drinking water is a basic civic right, adding that the continued failure to ensure this essential service has eroded public trust and raised serious concerns over governance, financial utilisation, and departmental efficiency.
The HYC has warned that if the government fails to act, the organisation will be compelled to explore public and legal remedies, asserting that the people of Shillong cannot be expected to indefinitely endure administrative apathy and infrastructure collapse.