Lakhs of litres of water goes to waste in Hisar as staff holds liquor party at treatment plant

A major water wastage incident occurred when employees of the Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) allegedly failed to monitor the supply at the Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) water treatment plant, as they were reportedly having a liquor party inside the facility.

The negligence led to the overflow of lakhs of litres of water, even as the town continues to grapple with a severe water shortage. The SCADA waterworks cater to nearly 75 per cent of Hisar.

Sources revealed that the water supply had been turned on to serve a specific region, but the staff on duty failed to regulate or divert it. As a result, water spilled out from the plant premises, flowed onto nearby roads and travelled several kilometres.

Residents, who witnessed the incident, claimed that they had spotted empty bottles of liquor on the plant premises. Videos of overflowing water and evidence of the party, including empty liquor bottles and leftover food on a table, went viral on social media, after which the department removed the contractor’s employee on duty and ordered an FIR to be registered against him.

Executive Engineer Shashi Kant informed that a show-cause notice had also been issued to the Junior Engineer responsible for the oversight. The incident has sparked outrage among city residents, who have been struggling with a severe water shortage for over a month and are being forced to purchase water tankers.

Ward 7 councillor Manohar Lal criticised the negligence, stating that while residents were desperate for water, irresponsible employees were letting it flow wastefully.