Water supply at peak, shortage blamed on thefts and leaks

Water supply at peak, shortage blamed on thefts and leaks

Neha Lalchandani | TNN

New Delhi: Even as Delhi received a record supply of 825 million gallons per day (MGD) on Saturday, several parts of the city witnessed a shortage with the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) officials blaming the anomaly on political pressure and infrastructural bottleneck.
Though the Board claims that in terms of supply it has never been more comfortably placed, it says that it is losing a massive 25% of supply to thefts and nonmetered connections and another 20% through leaks. Thefts and unauthorised connections account for 150MGD loss. Tail-end areas suffer the most, said a senior DJB official.
Old Rajinder Nagar, for instance, has been complaining of smelly water supply for months and that DJB officials do not respond to any complaint. The area is fed by some lines that pass through Patel Nagar . This particular section itself has some 5,000 unauthorised tappings. The line is perforated with illegal connections, causing not just loss of water but also leading to several pollutants entering the supply system . We have been trying for years to sort out the problem but our men have been threatened physically, said a DJB official.
Mukherjee Nagar also faces the same problem. Pressure from local politicians is also a routine affair. Water is a sensitive issue and crucial during elections. Each MLA is vying with the other to ensure better supply for his area which also includes unauthorised connections . The administration needs to take strict action against defaulters but nothing has happened so far, said the official.
At Paharganj, officials say the problem exists as the area is at the tail-end of the supply network and construction en route has gone up so much that the area receives very little water. We had planned supply for a certain number of people. However, population and area occupancy grew beyond our imagination , said an official.
The ongoing power crisis is also causing problems for DJB. Several of its boosters were hit by power cuts and officials said that even though they had the water to supply, they were unable to do so. The discoms should ensure that essential services like water are not hit when they have to carry out loadshedding. Our treatment plants have also been affected in the past which meant that our water production was adversely affected, said the official.
We can understand that the utility has problems but why should we suffer for that. If they know there is so much illegal extraction, why cant they force the police to take action. Why make excuses for the mismanagement , said Sudhir Nagpal, a resident of Rajinder Nagar.