Water shortage hits Baltana residents hard

Satinder Pal Singh

Zirakpur, December 10

Residents of Saini Vihar Phase-III in Baltana have been facing acute drinking water scarcity for the past two weeks. They have accused the authorities concerned of not acting promptly on their complaints.

Though the Municipal Council is well versed with the situation, no efforts have been made to restore the supply. The residents have been struggling to find water for basic household chores and even for drinking for the past 14 days.

The residents allege that owing to damage in underground water pipelines, they are facing this problem.

The situation worsened during the weekend when most people were at home. There wasn’t enough water for cooking, what to talk of water for washing clothes, said Nirmala Devi, a resident.

The residents alleged that despite resorting to installing Tullu pumps at their houses, they still face difficulty in meeting water requirement for domestic purposes.

Those living in the locality said sometimes the supply is for about half an hour and at times, the pressure is so low that they cannot store any water. Though it is illegal to augment water by fixing motors or Tullu pumps, it has turned out to be the rule of law in the area. Even the area councillor was seen defending the residents who are using motor pumps to draw water and said low pressure was forcing them to opt for such practices.

MC contractor Kuldeep, who had been supervised to look into the matter, had failed to notice any defect in the water pipeline and in turn had claimed that the discharge of the tubewell is low due to which the residents are facing acute shortage of water.

Kuldeep said his team somehow had planned and even tried to connect the affected area’s water pipeline connection with another pipeline that had been laid earlier by the coloniser, but still the problem persists.

The residents are forced to call water tankers from the MC and lift water buckets to floors. Some of the residents even have to buy mineral water.

What comes as a shock for the residents of Saini Vihar is that those families getting supply have been receiving contaminated water. Inhabitants here have expressed concern over it and claimed that potable water was getting mixed with sewage from sewerage lines.

Manju, a housewife, said water was not even fit for washing purpose. “When we turn on our tap, there is a contaminated water for 15 to 20 minutes. Its stench is unbearable. We are being forced to rush to our relatives’ place in Zirakpur to take a bath,” Manju irked.

The problem is grave in the entire area and MC officials should do something at the earliest, said Kapoor Singh, another resident.

Area Councillor Hawa Singh Attri said he, along with the residents, had approached the MC officials several times and they assured us that the problem would be solved, but still they were facing the same problem.

Kulwinder Sohi, president of the Municipal Council, Zirakpur, said he would ask his staff to check the water pipeline again tomorrow and the issue will be addressed soon.

‘Water discharge from tubewell low’

MC contractor Kuldeep, who had been supervised to look into the matter, had failed to notice any defect in the water pipeline and in turn had claimed that water discharge from the tubewell is low due to which the residents are facing acute shortage of water.