President of Nanda block Resident Welfare Association (RWA) Digpal Singh Rana spoke about the serious situation on the water front in an interaction with Zaid Nayeemi. Excerpts:
How old is water supply issue in Nanda block and how many are affected?
The existing pipeline was laid almost 3-4 years ago here. Since the last two years, Nanda block, primarily, has been facing the severe scarcity of water supply from the pipeline. The residents of H-block to S-block, which is approximately over 5,000, are mostly affected.
What is the root cause of the problem?
Residents of the Bengali colony, which is adjacent to the Nanda block, have also got their water connections from the same main line. Thus, we believe that the pressure of water in our society’s pipeline has declined to zero and thus we are not getting any water in our pipeline.
Was any government official consulted on the issue?
We met local MLA Bhavna Gaur and ward councillor Ajay Rai and made them aware about this issue. However, we did not get a proper response even after the visit. We were told that the issue will be solved in a few months, but nothing happened. The DJB Junior Engineer also did not respond to our calls or visit the area.
How do residents cope with the non-supply of water?
What the residents at Nanda block are doing right now is that they are installing a second water motor to pump up the water collected from the water tanker to their over-roof tanks. Either this, or many of them are getting another pipe laid down to let the water collect from the water tankers on the road to their houses.