Water scarcity issue rocks meeting of Rohtak MC General House

The General House meeting of the Rohtak Municipal Corporation (MC) on Thursday was dominated by concerns over the scarcity of potable water and inadequate cleanliness of drains. Several councillors prominently raised these issues and demanded explanations from officials concerned.

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Mayor Ram Avtar Valmiki expressed serious concern over the issues and directed officials to prioritise the resolution of problems. Some councillors criticised officials for failing to address the issues of contaminated water supply and insanitary conditions in their wards despite repeated complaints.

“Residents of more than 10 localities in my ward, including Sai Dass Colony, Pada Mohalla, Brahman Mandi, Krishna Colony, Mahabir Colony, and Qilla Mohalla, have been struggling for potable water for the last several days. They are forced to rely on tankers or groundwater as regular water supply has been disrupted,” said Kapil Nagpal, Municipal Councillor from Ward No. 7.

Nagpal said over a month ago, he had staged a dharna outside the office of the Public Health and Engineering Department (PHED) over the same issue. “While the authorities introduced an online tanker booking system as a solution, most residents lack digital skills to use it. Even those who manage to book a tanker online face long delays, making the system largely ineffective,” he pointed out.

Similar complaints were echoed by several other councillors. “In my ward, areas like Jhang Colony, Subhash Nagar, Adarsh Nagar, Arjun Nagar, New Chinaut Colony, Shree Nagar Colony and Durga Colony either receive very poor water supply or are supplied dirty water. Despite raising the issue multiple times, no concrete steps have been taken to resolve these problems,” claimed said Kanchan Khurana, Councillor from Ward No. 14.

Taking serious note of the concerns, Mayor Valmiki instructed officials to ensure the supply of clean drinking water either by deploying tankers or utilising tubewells. He also asked them to prioritise areas where councillors had specifically requested tankers and to resolve the issue of contaminated water at the earliest.

Councillors also raised the matter of poor sanitation in their wards and along major roads. In response, the Mayor demanded details from the MC authorities about sanitation workers and the private firm which had the contract for cleanliness operations. He questioned why officials had still not provided the information, despite being asked during the first meeting of the current house several days ago.

Valmiki also pulled up officials over the increasing number of complaints related to errors in property IDs. “I had directed officials to organise correction camps on holidays and to transfer employees who have been holding the same post for two to three years. However, no action has been taken,” he said sternly during the meeting.

Meanwhile, Sandeep Kumar, Executive Engineer, PHED, claimed that water was currently being supplied once a day to areas under Water Works-1 and twice a day to those areas falling under Water Works 2, 3 and 4 for around an hour each time. He said, “Additionally, over 70 water tankers are dispatched to localities upon receiving online requests.”

“Efforts are underway to increase the storage capacity of the waterworks to ensure sufficient reserves during periods when canal water is unavailable. Water demand naturally rises during the summer season, but we are doing our best to ensure an adequate supply to all areas,” Kumar said.