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Sounds strange, but water complaints see a dip this year

Multi-pronged strategy for equitable distribution of water has paid results, says Jal Board CEO Arun Mathur

New Delhi: Believe it or not -- Delhiites, known for their constant quibbling about the scarcity of water in the Capital actually lodged fewer complaints this year with the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) as compared to the previous year.

Attributing this reduction in the number of complaints to its multi-pronged strategy involving steps for equitable distribution of water to the city, DJB CEO Arun Mathur said the peak summer months of May and June saw a reduction of water supply complaints by 15.5 per cent and 8.2 per cent respectively.

As against 45,049 complaints received in May 2005, there were 38,341 registered for the same period this year. Against 30,162 complaints lodged in June 2005, the figure stood at 28,268 in June, 2006.

There has been a marked decrease in complaints following measures taken by the DJB for equitable distribution of water like cracking down on illegal connections and focussing on saving water lost due to leakages and other infrastructure related problems, Mr. Mathur said.

The complaints related to "no water supply" dropped from 44,300 in May 2005 to 37,516 during the same period this year, while those related to "low pressure or short duration of supply" fell from 825 to 729.

Similarly in June, "no water supply" complaints registered a dip of 2,125 from 29,728 to 27,603.

Observing that the DJB has taken a host of measures to address the grievances of people, Mr. Mathur said, "Since we indicate a figure of around 4.5 lakh of population which gets added to Delhi each year, it would be reasonable to believe that the steps taken have made a difference."

The DJB chief said, ``It may also be noted that this year the SMS system was introduced on a full-time basis and not for a selective period, as was done last year." "Apart from this, we also advertised in the papers indicating the telephone numbers of our water emergencies, our helplines and DJB control rooms to let consumers know whom they could contact for redressal of their complaints. In spite of all this, our complaints have gone down," he said. -- PTI

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