Drinking water scarce, debris chokes drains in Jahangirpuri

Residents complained debris from Wednesday’s anti-encroachment drive has blocked the main drain along the road, causing the drain water to spill out on the streets. The drainage has also entered some houses located at the road level.

The iron gates at most of the streets towards Kushal cinema in C-block, Jahangirpuri, remained shut even as the local residents complained that they were not getting their drinking water supply since most of the piped water was not fit for consumption.

A woman resident reacts during a joint anti-encroachment drive by NDMC, PWD, local bodies and the police, in the violence-hit Jahangirpuri area, in New Delhi, Wednesday, April 20, 2022. (PTI Photo)

Sareja, 26, said that the piped water supply comes twice a day, but it’s so dirty that they can’t drink it. “Therefore, we all used to buy water from a vendor who used to come inside the streets and sell filtered water in plastic cans. However, the main road has been blocked, the vendor has not come to supply water,” she said.

Her neighbour, Saira, said there’s a water plant about 1.5km away where they have to go to get clean drinking water. “It’s Ramzan, and we are fasting. Our husbands or boys have to walk all the way and bring 20 litres water from the water plant in this heat,” she said.

Residents also complained debris from Wednesday’s anti-encroachment drive has blocked the main drain along the road, causing the drain water to spill out on the streets. The drainage has also entered some houses located at the road level.

Nusrat, 33, who lives in one-room house showed the drain water seeping inside. “The water is sewer water. One can see the dirt. As the drains are now clogged because of the debris following encroachment, our house will be flooded with dirty water. This may lead to health problems,” she said, complaining of general lack of sanitation in the area.

Some residents also complained that they are not able to send their children to schools because of the complete cordoning of the main road.

Muskan, 28, whose two sons aged 7 and 5, go to a nearby government school, said that she has not been sending them to school. “One, I am scared that what if something happens again. My children are very small. Another, the route they have to take is very long because the gates are shut,” she said.

However, Manjura, 32, has been sending her three daughters to school. “They go together with a group of girls and come together. There’s no fear,” she said.

Men in the area complained of losing wages because of not being allowed to go out.

A senior police officer said the heavy police deployment has been made to maintain law and order in the area, and added that they are ensuring that essential services are not affected.