Water Resource Functioning in Jorhat Town, Assam

Water as a basic human need plays different functions in human life, particularly for domestic purpose. The availability of water for their basic function has not been adequate and safe in many parts of the world. This is truer in many urban centres of the world, and Jorhat town is no exception to it. Therefore, an attempt has been made in this paper to analyse functioning of water especially for domestic purpose, in Jorhat town of Assam. It analyses the availability of different sources of water for domestic purpose, tapping of these sources through different means, and role of these sources in providing domestic water to the citizens of Jorhat town. It is found that people of Jorhat town depend on different sources of water for domestic purpose, which include piped water supply in some wards by three agencies, the Bhogdoi River, ponds and wells. Both surface and ground water Sources have been utilised for domestic purpose. Despite presence of different sources of water in Jorhat town, the citizens face serious problem of shortage of water, especially in the lean period (February to May). The paper is based on the primary and secondary data collected from the study area.