AGARTALA, December 13 (TIWN): The water treatment plants which were closed due to the recent oil spill in Gomati River are opened today, said Minister for Public Works (Drinking Water and Sanitation) Ratan Bhowmik.

Taking to TIWN Minister for Public Works (Drinking Water and Sanitation) Ratan Bhowmik today said that all the water treatment plants which were closed due to the recent oil spill in Gomati River are opened today to provide drinking water to the people.

At present the situation in under control and no oil spill is reported today, the minister added. The Gomati Hydro Electricity Project is closed and it will open after all necessary investigation regarding the recent oil spill, he added.

He said that earlier the drinking water was being supplied in tankers in the affected areas. It came to the notice of the government that there was spill of oil into the river Gomati from a pipe of the Gomati hydro project at Tirthamukh in Gomati district, he added.

The water of the river was immediately tested in the district laboratory, but no contamination was reported. We have collected more samples for testing in the laboratory of the Science and Technology department here, minister for Public Works (Drinking Water and Sanitation) Ratan Bhowmik said.

The leakage took place when one unit of the Gomati Hydro Electricity Project was being repaired TSECL a few days ago, but the spill has now stopped, the minister mentioned.

It is to be mentioned here that the Gomti River along with seven other rivers in Tripura flows to Bangladesh. The 10 MW capacity Gomti hydel power project was commissioned in 1974.