HYDERABAD: Shortage of drinking water has become the main issue in the Secunderabad Cantonment Board elections and the contestants who are touring the slums as part of the campaigning are flooded with complaints from locals about the irregular drinking water supply.
SCB jurisdiction starts at Balamrai and Jubilee Bus Station in the south and extends till Risala Bazar and Bollarum in the north. Important places like Bowenpally, Trimulgherry, Karkhana, Mahendra Hills, Tadbund, Lal Bazar, Bollarum and Rasoolpura fall in SCB limits. Though the Cantonment area comprises colonies and slums, it is in slums where the drinking water problem is severe.
For instance, in areas like Annanagar Basti, Ajunnagar, Srilanka Basti, Indirammanagar, Rasooolpura and Lalmiya Basti drinking water is supplied once in ten to fifteen days.
“We got drinking water last Friday. We have to wait for three days more to get drinking water. We have been complaining about this problem for years but no leader or official has solved our problem,” said Balachandraiah, a resident of Annanagar Basti which falls under Ward Number 2.
When former board member and contestant S Keshava Reddy visited the areas in Ward Number 2 as part of his campaigning, women complained about lack of drinking water.
“We have been able to provide facilities like underground drainage, street lights and roads in the slums but water has become a problem as SCB has to pay dues to the tune of more than `10 crore to the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board to get sufficient water. While SCB needs about 60 lakh gallons of water per day, it is getting just 50 lakh gallons. We are promising people of digging borewells and laying new pipelines from reservoirs to slums,” said Keshava Reddy.
“To get a water connection `3,000 has to be paid. How can we pay so much amount?” asked B Sujata, a resident of Indirammanagar Basti.