Water Water everywhere nor any drop to drink” – this line from the poem “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner – By Samuel Taylor Coleridge” aptly states the situation of some residents of S block GK2. After the abundant rains, courtesy of the rain gods, one would have thought that the water crisis was a thing of the past and a far-fetched thought. But alas this was not to be. Erratic water supply has become a pattern in gk2, especially S block which according to DJB faces the maximum problem owing to the natural elevation in level compared to other blocks – E, M & W.
The problem started sometime in September and has continued to increase to such a level, that a particular block of 8-10 houses has not received a drop of water and has been relying solely on DJB tankers for their basic needs. Initially, repeated complaints fell on deaf ears as DJB officials and staff remained in denial for almost 2 months. The standard reply would be that supply is normal at their end. Fed up with the problem the residents got together with the RWA and approached the MLA – some action was taken.
DJB finally took cognizance of the problem. The old team of DJB was shunted out and the previous team was brought back. The JE visited the site promptly and met with residents and the RWA. Multiple inspections and discussions threw light on the problem which is a compounded one. One – The valves at the overhead storage and distribution tank are extremely worn out and old – now beyond repair, they need urgent replacement. Second, The distribution pipelines are extremely old and leaky. Thanks to the builders who keep puncturing the line each time an old house is broken down and a new one is built, it results in breakage and forms leakage points. Thirdly the suction pumps or motors installed by almost every resident, do not let the water freely flow, making it difficult for some residents to receive any supply. Fourthly, there has been a drastic increase in consumption as there has been hectic construction activity converting single or double-storey houses to four-storey ones.
The situation is so bad that these particular residents have had to order a tanker every alternate day. Every morning starts with the communication “paani aaya kya?” with the same rhetoric in the evening. The saving grace is that at the behest of the residents and the RWA – the AE/JE and staff at DJB have readily been supplying water tankers to the affected residents.
It has been more than a month but the problem has not been identified – minor leakage points did come to light but not any major so far. Meanwhile, the valve replacement work has been initiated and it is expected to be completed soon. This might solve the water supply problem but the particular block of houses facing this adversity might still not be the beneficiaries.
