Dwarka Sector-1, located in south west Delhi, is considered to be one of the capital’s well-developed residential complexes. Beyond its proximity to the Palam metro as well as railway station, this is a preferred site for its close proximity to the Indira Gandhi International Airport. Being a popular residential and commercial zone, many land development projects are centered here.
However, the glamour fades away in the sector’s Nanda block, Mahavir Enclave, where residents continue to grapple with water woes. Residents here have been facing an irregular supply of water for years. Local residents have claimed that despite having water connections into their homes, they do not receive water. As a result, they are facing difficulties to carry out day-to-day household work.
Along the lanes of the Nanda block, one will observe water containers, water tanks and other water storage apparatus in front of houses here. These are kept to store water which the residents get through water tankers supplied by Delhi Jal Board (DJB), claimed the residents.
Talking to this correspondent, Laxmi Rawat, a resident of Nanda block, said that earlier they had complained of getting saline water in their pipeline. However, this has not been solved and, now, for a few years they are not getting water in their connections. “Residents like me are dependent on water tankers to get the supply of water.
For this, we have to book a water tanker from DJB every week and then we get the water to meet the daily needs. There are more water storage boxes or tanks in our house than the number of people in our family,” Laxmi Rawat said. Another resident, Aradhna, said,
“Since, our street is narrow, the water tanker cannot come closer to my house. Thus, I have to carry containers (approximately 12-15 litres) from the main road to my house, which is about 300-400 meters and due to this I have got back pain.”
As per the locals, this issue has also led to theft of stored water in their locality, as those who need water for emergency purposes like for guests, retort to this tactic. The newspaper tried contacting local MLA Bhavna Gaur, ward councillor Ajay Rai and officials from DJB. However, they were not available for any comments.
The president of Nanda block Resident Welfare Association (RWA) Digpal Singh Rana spoke about the gravity of the water supply issue concerning their area in an interaction with Zaid Nayeemi.
Excerpts:
Since how many years the residents of Nanda block are facing this issue of water supply and how many are affected by this? The water pipeline was put almost 3-4 years back in this area and, primarily, our Nanda block is facing the severe issue of no supply of water from the pipeline since the last two years. The residents of H-block to S-block, which are approximately over 5000, are mostly affected.
What is the root cause of this problem, according to you? See, the residents of Bengali colony, which is adjacent to the Nanda block, have also got their water connection from the same main water line. Thus, the pressure of water in our society’s pipeline has declined to zero and thus we are not getting any water in our pipeline.
Did you or your RWA members meet any government official regarding this issue and what did they say? 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 that. 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.
What are the further consequences of this problem in the block? See, the storage of water in containers will lead to contamination of water and it may cause an increase in vector-borne diseases like dengue and malaria.
How has this non-supply of water in your area has increased the burden on the residents? What the residents are doing right now is that they are installing another water motor to pump up the water collected from the water tanker to their over-roof tanks or many of them are getting another pipe laid down to let the water collect from the water tankers on the road to their house.
What are other civic issues your society is facing? The sewer lines in our area need revamp. Many times, the sewer water keeps overflowing on the road and it makes it difficult for people to walk. The holes of sewer lines need to be plastered properly. I would like to appeal to our local MLA and area councillor to solve these issues on an urgent basis.
The New Indian Express also spoke to Pankaj Gupta, Treasurer, Nanda block RWA who stressed upon the fact that on an average, almost 100 water tankers are supplying water to the residents of Nanda block every day. "We have complained several times to the government to solve the issue, however, nothing happened," he added.
