Andhra Pradesh - Vijayawada   

Water shortage acute in several localities

VIJAYAWADA: Several parts of the city are reeling under the serious problem of shortage of drinking water.

Localities like Ajit Singh Nagar, Vidyadharapuram, Old Rajarajeswaripeta, Chittinagar, Mallikarjunapeta, K.L. Rao Nagar, Lakshmi Nagar and Gandhi Hill are some of the worst affected, as water supply has been meagre for the last couple of weeks. Residents of places like Old Rajarajeswaripeta rue that taps go dry very often.

The problem of water distribution, which is quite common in the localities spread on the hill slopes, persists in other areas too, this time. That complaints have been pouring into the Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) from many divisions, including hill slope areas, outlines the magnitude of the problem. VMC officials say they are taking adequate measures to tide over water crisis and steps are already afoot to regulate water supply.

They say that a summer action plan has been chalked out so as to ensure that the people would not face water problem. But, opposition parties say that the summer action plan is limited only to paper and that the ruling party has utterly failed to address the water problem.

Residents of localities such as Ajit Singh Nagar maintain that water problem has always been there in their areas. They say that water comes with very low pressure and sometimes it just trickles. They mostly depend on private water suppliers or open wells.

“There is immense water scarcity and we are facing a lot of problems. This even leads to clashes and fights among us. If a tanker comes regularly, then there won’t be so many problems,” is what most of them say.

The officials, however, contend that they are using boosters to maintain ample pressure even in hill slope areas. Water tankers have been lined up to meet the surge in demand and supply to the localities where water is found to be in shortage. Long queues of residents waiting for their chance to draw water from the corporation water tanks is a familiar scene in the localities above mentioned.

Added to the water problem, the citizens face power problem too. As a result, those who have pumpsets are unable to draw water from the ground.

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