When Every Option Failed JUGAAD Came To the Rescue
A Chakka Jam Was Organised on the Main Road of Vasant Kunj to Protest against the Illegal Practices
by Amit Aggarwal & Swati Sinha
VK as always is in limelight since ages especially on the issue of water crisis. This time it was probably not due to scarcity but a leakage fault in the supply system. The claims made by two rival parties keeping MCD elections in mind, one can clearly say was the reason of media attention. As a concerned resident of VK I was also following the day to day chronology and taking regular updates about the working of DJB workers/officials on ground.
Water was being pumped from B1 (Main Reservoir filled from Sonia Vihar treatment plant via GK pumping station) to fill Local UGRs of VK sectors/ blocks. But many blocks particularly those towards D & C sectors local UGRs were not getting adequate supply.
There could be two reasons 1) Pumping efficiency reduced, 2) Leakage in the supply system. Second option was checked physically along the system and was ruled out in the absence of wet surfaces. DJB simultaneously started working on first option by replacing Pumps and valves inside the pumping station. A third party Ultrasonic sensor leakage detection team was also engaged but they also failed.
All this exercise yielded no results even when many RWA office bearers and VK Federation executives were working with DJB round the clock even during midnight. Retired DJB workers were also engaged, who were monitoring the VK Sonia Vihar pipeline system being installed.
Breakthrough…
When every option failed, JUGAAD came to our rescue. The workers/Officials started walking along the main supply line as per map and retired workers memory while B1 pumping was on, they felt specific fresh water smell along with chlorine emitting from some area while no wet surface was seen. It attracted everyone’s attention and they started exploring that specific area, there was a 10 feet deep covered drain (just near T junction of C6 on the left side going from DPS VK) along the road which was going inside the Ridge/ Forest area surrounded by high boundary wall behind C5.
They broke the slab and found huge quantity of water gushing out of main DJB pipeline just above the deep drain. The actual problem was found and they plugged the leakage by replacing the small portion. Since it was covered in deep drain and going inside Ridge area, no one could find the leakage.
This detection would have taken very long time, had our sixth sense not prevailed.
But crisis of any kind will expose many personalities in our community; some are interested in media coverage and they try to become leaders by raising different accusations, while others work with the system silently to find solutions.
However VK’s fight for its share of water is still not over.
The Protest…
Residents of Vasant Kunj get their regular water supply from Sonia Vihar through the Delhi Jal Board. Recently, DJB informed different RWAs about shortage of water supply, hence sectors started fulfilling the shortage through the bore well water in their respective societies.
While most of the sectors were fine with the bore well water supply, some sectors like D6, Santushti Apartments were not. The residents visited the Sector B1 UGR of DJB to find the root cause of the water shortage and complained that they were not ready to get the untreated water of the bore well in their tanks. The non-committal behaviour of the DJB staff about the fault finding and rectification further agitated the residents and hence started the series of daily dharnas by the residents at the DJB office.
The conflict between the residents and DJB officials took a dirty turn when the residents discovered the illicit sale of DJB water to certain areas despite water shortage. Several DJB tankers were stopped from leaving the DJB premises as they were illegally selling the water which rightfully belonged to the residents. A chakka jam was then organised on the main road of Vasant Kunj to protest against the illegal practices of netas and DJB. Many residents of the adjoining sectors also joined the jam.
Finally, a major leakage area was detected which was declared the root cause of water shortage by DJB. Water supply returned to normal after fixing the leakage. The DJB was forced to speed up the rectification work as residents were getting impatient after many days of irregular supply.
Such collective effort by residents forces the authorities to investigate the matter and amp up the rectification process. Although political parties didn’t miss the chance to claim their role in getting the work done quickly, but no power is bigger than the collective power of residents.
Kudos to the residents of Vasant Kunj for voicing their rights in the right way at the right time. Well Done.
