HYDERABAD: Trying every trick in the book for grabbing the attention of the administration and political class to highlight their plight, the Alakaapoor township residents resorted to forming a kilometre long human chain to demand water connections from HMWSSB for their locality. Over 500 residents participated to demand HMWSSB to reopen their request for setting up a drinking water connection in their area, which they say, was promised in this year by Dana Kishore, MD, Water Board.
Stating that the township is an approved and planned HMDA layout, they said, it is wrong for the government to deny them drinking water connections for over four years, despite them submitting several requests to officials and ministers alike.
They held placards stating that the government was forcing them to rely on private tankers who were supplying poor quality water to the families. “In 2015, we gave our first application to HMWSSB, which was rejected stating that there were no distribution networks available. Till now, there is no mechanism developed to supply water to over 4,000 dwelling units in our township,” said an official statement from the township’s RWA.
According to the members of the township, they spend about Rs 6 crore a year to buy water, which unfortunately comes only from private players, as HMWSSB denies them a supply of water tankers as well.
“The private tankers supply water from borewells which are contaminated with sewage, as the borewells are located close to the lake. This water poses a health risk for children, several of whom have been falling ill regularly,” emphasised a protestor.
Meanwhile, raising concerns for next summer, they requested Dana Kishore to reopen all water applications, allocate drinking water and start distribution network-related work at the earliest.
“We will continue these human chains every Sunday and go on a hunger strike from next Sunday until the work is taken up, and water-connection-related files are opened,” said Manoj Kumar, general secretary of Alakaapoor township’s RWA.