Usually residents in the national Capital face hard times during summer. With the rising temperature, residents are hit hard with water crisis yet again with the situation no better than previous years. May and June are the toughest months as water crisis deepens.
The Pioneer visited several water deficit areas in North, East, West and South Delhi to take stock of the situation.
All parts of the Capital, particularly North and South, are already facing water shortage. While many people complained of inconsistent water supply in their areas, several others said the water they get is often contaminated and stinks. In North Delhi, places such as Narela, Shakti Nagar, Tahirpur, Malka Ganj and the Walled City continue to suffer due to water shortage.
Rubina Ul Haque, a resident of old Delhi said the supplied water is so contaminated and smelly that if somebody drinks it, he will fall sick. “Not only this, the timings for the water supply have also been reduced by half an hour,” he said.
Ashok Basin, President of North Delhi RWA’s Federation said over the years, water crisis in North Delhi is a major problem. “There are many areas in North Delhi where piped water supply hasn’t reached yet. Water which is supplied is contaminated. Despite making several complaints to the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) nothing is done by the authorities,” Basin said.
In South Delhi, people in posh areas such as Vasant Kunj, Greater Kailash are striving hard to get enough supply of water. “The major problem is low water pressure with foul and dirty smell. The timings are also not fixed,” said Sounita Chakraborty, a resident of Vasant Kunj.
At Ambedkar Nagar, a resident Sarita Barua said, “Situation due to water shortage is so grim that we have to rely on water tankers despite having authorised water supply connections. The piped water comes with such a low pressure that it cannot fulfill the requirements of the people. And to get the water from water tankers, people fight with each other,” said Sarita.
Same is the scenario in west Delhi. Resident in areas such as Dwarka, Uttam Nagar, Tikal Nagar, Hari Nagar and Patel Nagar also complained about the water contamination and erratic timings. “We don’t get to know about the water supply. Timings are not fixed. The water which comes is smelly,” said Neha Yadav, a resident of Uttam Nagar.
Unauthorised colonies such as Sangam Vihar, Deoli, Trilokpuri, Deoli, Bawana, Nangloi, Kirari, Kalyanpuri where water crisis is a daily affair for the people who are still living with the dream of piped supply water through taps in houses. The only way people get water is through water tankers.