The Hindu : New Delhi News : Kaushambi residents yet to get potable water

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Nov 29, 2004

New Delhi

New Delhi

Kaushambi residents yet to get potable water

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI, NOV. 28. For residents of five group housing societies in Kaushambi area of neighbouring Ghaziabad, getting potable water from the Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam's multi-crore Ganga water project has become an ordeal. Despite paying water tax to the Ghaziabad Nagar Nigam (GNN), over 1,500 flats-owners are still to receive potable water from the ambitious project that would be formally inaugurated by the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Mulayam Singh Yadav, on Monday.

Though the supply of water from the treatment plant was started around six months ago, major pipeline damage on Link Road near Delhi-UP Border blocked flow of water towards these housing societies. Despite repeated requests and representations to the GNN and U.P. Jal Nigam officials, nothing much has been done to repair the damaged pipelines forcing residents to still depend on underground water. Ironically, the GNN has already charged water tax from these housing societies that includes development charges for the water project.

The Rs.106-crore Ganga water project, that has come up near Electronic City in Noida along the National Highway-24, was conceived in 1987 with an aim to supply 50 cusec water to meet growing requirements of the residents of four sub-cities developed by the Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) -- Kaushambi, Vaishali, Vasundhara and Indirapuram -- besides Noida. Initially, the project's cost was Rs.20 crores, but repeated delays led to massive escalation in its cost that was finally completed by spending Rs.106 crores.

Under the project, raw water is brought via pipelines from the Ganga canal near Mussoorie village of Ghaziabad district to the massive water treatment plant at Noida and after treatment is distributed to residents of these sub-cities and Noida. Of the 50-cusec water, 20 cusec is given to Noida and 15 cusec is distributed in Vasundhara while the remaining 15-cusec is equally distributed in Kaushambi, Indirapuram and Vaishali.

So, when the water treatment plant started operating some six months ago, supply was gradually started to all these localities. But when the water distribution was started in Kaushambi, only half the area managed to get the supply while the five group housing societies of the area -- Simant Vihar, Asha Pushp Vihar, Siddharth Niketan, Lumbini Apartments and Neelam Vihar -- having over 1,500 flats, along with four multi-storey complexes and other residential buildings failed to get potable water due to damaged water pipeline.

"Ironically, this year we were asked to pay water tax along with our house tax without getting water. When we met senior UP Jal Nigam officials about a couple of months ago, they assured us that damaged water pipeline on Link Road will be repaired within a month and supply resumed in the area. But over two months have passed since, no work has started as yet. And now the State Chief Minister. Mulayam Singh Yadav, is here to officially start the project, but getting potable water is still a distant dream for us and we have still to rely on groundwater," said A.K. Pant, head of the Siddharth Niketan's residents welfare committee.

Fed up all the dilly-dallying tactics of GNN and U.P. Jal Nigam officials, the residents are now planning to meet Mr. Yadav and lodge a formal complaint requesting him to ensure that water is supplied to them without any further delay.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

New Delhi

News Update

Stories in this Section

Kaushambi residents yet to get potable water

Power cuts are back again

Rashtrapati Bhavan's gardener, family consume poison

`Empower women to check AIDS spread'

cinema

`Jathas' to promote health issues

Metro successfully tests automatic system

Life term for killing brother

Around the City

In the Capital Today