HYDERABAD: In a city where one can get a pack of pizza or biryani delivered at home in less than half an hour, many hapless residents are doomed to wait for days to get a pot of water.
In the City of Pearls, known for its rich heritage and IT success stories, areas like Jagadgirigutta present a completely different picture, where residents are made to wait for days to get a potful of water.
“We got water on Sunday. Now we have to wait for five days. Till then we have to survive on the little amount of water we have stored. We have been repeatedly requesting our corporators and Water Board officials to increase the supply of water but to no avail. How can a family survive if water is supplied only once in five days?” rued A Sandhya Rani, a homemaker from Shirdi Sai Hills, Jagadgirigutta.
Besides irregular supply of water, what’s plaguing the residents of Jagadgirigutta is the problem of low water pressure. As it is located on a hilly terrain, water supplied by Hyderabad Metro Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWSSB) will hardly reach all the homes located in the area, though these homes have a valid water connection. The residents are forced to depend on water pump motors to draw more water from the Water Board connection pipes.
“We bought two water pump motors to draw water from the water line. While each motor cost us Rs 4,000 every month we have to incur Rs 1,200 to Rs 1,500 towards electricity bill, for using motors to draw water, This is an additional burden on us besides water charges,” said J Poornamma, a home-maker from Jagadgirigutta.
Most of the residents in the area belong to poor and lower middle class background and any expenditure on water pump motors and electricity bill is a big burden on them. Also, on the day when water is supplied one person in the family has to forgo daily wages or salary as they have to stay at home and wait impatiently for collecting the water.
Replying to a query on the pathetic situation prevailing in Jagadgirigutta area, MB Praveen Kumar, general manager of Division-XII of HMWSSB, said that as the area is located on a hilly terrain, problems were being faced in water supply. But soon a permanent solution will be found, as the high pressure water supply pipelines will be laid to all the unserved areas like Jagadgirigutta.
“Laying water pipelines to the unserved areas like Jagadgirigutta will be taken with Rs 220 crore funds allotted by Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO). While works will begin in twenty days it might take eight months to get it completed,” said MB Praveen Kumar.