Acute shortage of potable water in Bhiwani, residents suffer

Deepender Deswal

Bhiwani, April 4

With the onset of the summer season, a number of localities in Bhiwani town have been facing an acute shortage of potable water for many days. Residents of Sainipura, Sugalan Dhani and Hanuman Dhani, which are part of Ward No. 25, alleged that they had not been getting the potable water supply by the Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) for about a month.

Women in these localities said they had to use the groundwater for drinking purposes due to the shortage of water supply. However, the groundwater is not fit for consumption and it could result in the spread of cholera and skin allergies.

These women staged a protest in their locality and called the municipal councillor of their locality, Vinod Kumar, to apprise him of their problem. Renu, Lakshmi, Anita, Bimla and others alleged that the potable water supply had been snapped in their locality about a month ago.

“We were forced to use water drawn from hand pumps installed in this area. But the groundwater is salty and contaminated. We have been using the water for washing clothes and utensils. If the problem is not resolved immediately, we will be forced to stage intensify our protest,” said Bimla Devi.

An MC member from Ward No. 25, Vinod Prajapati, said the demands of the people in these localities were justified. “They have been facing a serious water crisis for over a month. The problem is so serious that children and aged persons have reported skin allergies as they have been using the salty and contaminated water to bathe,” he said.

Deputy Commissioner Naresh Narwal said he had assigned duties of PHED officials in different localities for swift redress of the supply-related problems of residents. Narwal said, “The Public Health Engineering Department has deputed Executive Engineers, Subdivisional Engineers and Junior Engineers to resolve complaints related to drinking water supply in Bhiwani city. If there is a problem related to drinking water in any ward, citizens can contact the officials concerned who have been attached to their respective wards,” he said.