Residents a harried lot

Our Correspondent

Mandi Ahmedgarh, December 24

Residents of local town have urged the civic body authorities to ensure regular supply of water. Besides improving the availability and quality of water, this step will also help the administration implement recommendations of the Water Supply and Sanitation Department, Punjab.

Residents alleged that the civic body had failed to ensure regular supply of pure water to households and to government offices as per the recommendations of the Water Supply and Sanitation Department, Punjab. While the department recommends that water should be supplied regularly at a constant pressure and consumers should be billed according to water used, the civic body, on the other hand, is providing water at flat rate for limited number of hours only.

Residents led by Inderjit Sharma, a social activist of Jawahar Nagar, claimed that authorities and members of Municipal Council had failed to realize that the present system of water supply was putting residents and the administration in inconvenience.

“As water is supplied on flat rate basis and for limited hours in a day, majority of residents do not bother about closing their taps. Rather in many households, taps serve the purpose of an alarm as members of the families wake up to the sound of running water in the morning,” said Sharma, maintaining that a huge quantity of water is wasted due to the overflow every day.

Naresh Sharma, another social worker, Yash Painter Wali Gali area, argued that quality of water had deteriorated because of the stagnation in pipes. “The stagnant water is drained out with the help of tullu pumps and electric motors. It contaminates water stored in reservoirs of consumers, who then fall prey to various diseases,” said Naresh Sharma.

Justifying demands raised by the residents, Mohammad Ishfaq, an executive engineer, Water Supply Department, said the government had launched a movement to improve the quality of water being supplied to residents in towns and cities.

Ishfaq claimed that constituents of civic bodies and residents were being educated about the merits of installing water meters instead of flat rate supplies. Literature was also being distributed by the department among residents, added Ishfaq.