City water crisis deepens

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 26

The water crisis continued in the city today with residents complaining of little or no supply. The residents got little help from the MC’s helpline numbers, meant to provide water tankers. People alleged that they did not get a response from the helpline numbers. The phone numbers were either busy or not answered. Several residents were forced to hire private tankers.

Private tanker operators, who normally charge Rs 500-Rs 600, today increased their prices to Rs 700-Rs 1,000 per tanker. “Our repeated attempts to get MC tankers failed, following which we had to depend on private tankers. Some residents even lined up outside temples to fill their buckets,” said Rakesh Kanojia, a resident of Sector 24.

Residents said barring a few areas, there was no water supply in the morning, while it was low in the evening.

“Though water was supplied in the evening, it was available to only those living on the ground floor. The MC must make arrangements to store water to avoid such a situation,” said Hitesh Puri, chairman, Chandigarh Residents Association Welfare Federation. “The situation was worse than yesterday. People are fed up with frequent water supply issues. Being a Monday, residents had to go to office or drop their children to schools. They faced a tough time, especially in managing the daily chores, in the morning. The MC failed to supply adequate number of tankers,” said Baljinder Singh Bittu, chairman, Federation of Sectors Welfare Associations of Chandigarh. Queues of people were seen in different sectors waiting for water tankers.

A resident said UT villages did not face much problem due to tube wells, but those living in sectors faced a difficult situation.

The MC today provided water from seven filling stations. It hired 50 additional water tankers, besides its own 17 tankers.

MC Commissioner KK Yadav held a meeting with officials to deal with the situation. Yadav said the water supply would be normal from tomorrow. A councillor said the problem was due to lack of coordination between GMADA and MC officials at the Kajauli waterworks.