NEW DELHI: With the commissioning of the Sonia Vihar water treatment plant and release of more water to the city, the Delhi Jal Board is working doubly hard to ensure there are no hiccups in supply during the coming summer months when the peak demand for water shoots up.

The Board, which at present is readying its Summer Action Plan, is conscious of the fact that with the water from the Sonia Vihar plant being released to the Capital, it can no longer make excuses for insufficient supply.

"Drafting the Summer Action Plan is a routine that is followed every year, but this time the idea is to make it sharp and focused," said a senior Jal Board official.

"The Board is trying to ensure that the arrangements made for the coming summer season are sharp, well monitored and efficiently implemented. We will begin with the zonal offices, which are the contact points between the public and us. The services being provided at these 25 zonal offices will be spruced up and monitored," the official said. Taking note of consumer complaints against the ill-equipped zonal centres, the Board proposes to hire graduates from Delhi University on a contract basis to register complaints. To be hired for a period of two to three months, these students will be trained to handle calls and note the grievances of consumers.

"The SMS service that we started a couple of years ago will continue and its scope and efficiency will be improved. We will provide wireless sets to all control rooms for effective communication and there will be a dedicated process of attending to complaints at the units. For the convenience of consumers, the control rooms will work round the clock," said the official.

Regular monitoring of the services provided at the zonal units features high on the agenda and the Jal Board has decided to appoint an official of the rank of senior superintendent to oversee water emergencies. This official will be posted in addition to the junior engineer and the zonal engineers.

"There is also a proposal to train water tanker drivers on how to transport water without wastage and spillages. We often receive complaints about water being wasted during transportation. To check that, we will coach these drivers to conserve water," the official said.

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