No water for five years, all hopes dry up

Nikhila Pant Dhawan

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, May 17

After waiting for more than five years, not only the water pipelines but also the hopes of residents of Dashmesh Nagar have dried up.

Residents of this area located along the Naruana road are completely dependent on water tankers to meet their daily requirement even though their houses have water connections for the last five years.

Voicing their disappointment, residents of street number 1 of Dashmesh Nagar, said all these years they had been facing acute shortage of potable water and are left with no option but to depend on water tankers sent by the Municipal Corporation Bathinda.

“Despite having water connections, we have never got water supply. We have to call at the MCB office to get water tankers in the area. On an average, three tankers come to the street in a week and residents stock water for the rest of the days. All these years, we have brought our problems to the attention of several officials, but in vain,” said Karnail Singh.

The situation is so abysmal that some residents have removed taps from the water pipes as they think the situation would not improve.

Talking to Bathinda Tribune, Harjinder Singh, the councillor of the area, said the Sirhind canal was closed for a few weeks but even after the flow of water in the canal resumed, the water supply to his ward remained erratic.

“I have brought the matter to the attention of Mayor Balwant Rai Nath and Water Supply Department SDO Darbara Singh. They have assured me of regular water supply soon,” he said.

SDO Darbara Singh said he had yet not received any formal complaint pertaining to the water supply not reaching Dashmesh Nagar.

He added that he would look into the issue and address it at the earliest.