NEW DELHI: It was around 5.30 in the evening and a queue had formed in one corner of Harkesh Nagar, next to Okhla metro station, for a Delhi Jal Board water tanker.“The tanker never comes on time. It will come around 8 pm, but if we don’t stand in line now our chances of getting sufficient water will be low,” said Noor Jahan, a resident of the village.
“Tap water will ease our lives, for sure. We won’t have to wait for hours, and we won’t be dependent on tankers… both time and money will be saved,” she added. Last week, people in this village saw a ray of hope of getting piped water in their homes.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, during a visit on Sunday, assured them of supply of tap water within a week in Tughlakabad region, where residents have been grappling with the problem of procuring drinking water for long. Kejriwal said the pipelines had already been laid and added that they won’t have to depend on tankers any more. But that has not happened.
“The pipelines were laid two years ago. But the water never came. Last week, after the CM announced drinking water supply, it came for two days and again stopped. We are back to depending on tankers. We have no information on when tap water will arrive,” said Tejmaya, while filling her buckets from a tanker.
“In the past few weeks, the tankers have been coming more frequently.
We have faced days when they would arrive once or twice a week, that too during extreme heat. This tanker has arrived after two days, that is why there is such chaos. Although the tanker remains here for an hour, those who come late often don’t get sufficient water,” said Suman, another local.
In other parts of Tughlakabad, residents claimed that the water supply was infrequent and low in pressure. Some residents pointed to another issue with the water supplied—it cannot be used for drinking.
“It has a strange smell, so we don’t drink that water. We always buy water for drinking, but that is expensive. We will be happy if the government considers supplying cleaner water so that we don’t have to buy water,” said Reema Devi, a local.
The Delhi Jal Board supplies around 900 million gallons a day (MGD) of water against a demand of more than 1,200 MGD, resulting in water shortage in many areas, especially in south Delhi.