NEW DELHI: For nearly a week, the daily lives of people living in Vasant Kunj, the upmarket locale in the heart of the capital, have been focused on one thing – to arrange water supply for survival. Residents here have been forced to queue up before water tankers and wait for hours to get their “rationed” water supply which is less than basic to run a household.
Aggrieved with the laxity of the Delhi Jal Board, a group of residents on Tuesday took to the streets to protest the acute water shortage with empty buckets. A group of residents including the elderly and women were seen standing outside the Sector C-8 society, holding empty buckets to express their resentment. Now, they are mulling the blocking of roads if the issue is not resolved.
“Our locality consists of retired senior citizens and those employed in the service sector. It’s extremely difficult for them to line up for water before tankers. But they do so because of the apathy from the water agency,” said Bindu Chadha, president of, the Resident Welfare Association, Vasant Kunj (C-8).
The residents said that water tankers reached after much effort from the part of the DJB and many times they come without motors and pipes.“It’s a double whammy. First, we bear the pain of no supply. Then, in the name of temporary relief, we get water tankers from DJB which often come without the necessary equipment to fill our reservoirs. Recently, residents pooled in money and bought the equipment so that a delay can be avoided,” Chadha said.
What has perplexed the residents is DJB’s ineptness in finding the cause of the acute water shortage.
“It’s not just surprising but shocking that six days have gone and the DJB has failed to identify the cause of the disruption of water. Initially, they said there is an issue with the water pipeline, then they shifted the blame to the motor and now they are completely clueless about why we are devoid of water. This is happening in a supposedly upmarket neighbourhood,” Chadha said.
Jiten Negi, another resident, said that it’s very unfortunate that in 2022 when people are talking about blockchain and AI, officials are not able to address a mechanical issue. This reporter tried to contact AAP leader Saurabh Bhardwaj, vice-chairman of DJB, but no response was received till this newspaper went to print.