Facing unprecedented water crisis for a month: Vasant Vihar residents

On Tuesday, the Vasant Vihar Welfare Association (VVWA) took to social media to highlight their problem

Less than a month after parts of south Delhi’s Vasant Kunj witnessed an acute water supply crisis, residents of its neighbouring upscale locality Vasant Vihar are facing the same issue, which has worsened over the last week.

The crisis in Vasant Vihar comes barely a month after parts of Vasant Kunj witnessed an acute water supply crisis. Parul Gaur, a resident of A-block and a member of VVWA, said that water supply has been erratic over the last one month and the problem has worsened over the last four or five days. (HT Archive)

On Tuesday, the Vasant Vihar Welfare Association (VVWA) took to social media to highlight their problem. “Unprecedented water crisis in Vasant Vihar. All tanks in homes empty. Minimal water being supplied every alternate day. No response from concerned authorities. Request intervention to help solve this issue,” the post said.

Parul Gaur, a resident of A-block and a member of VVWA, said that water supply has been erratic over the last one month and the problem has worsened over the last four or five days. “Many parts of the colony are barely getting any water over the last two or three days. Vasant Vihar has been facing a water supply crunch for several years and we suspect our water is being diverted to other unplanned areas,” Gaur said.

The water supply crunch comes in the backdrop of an ongoing dispute between Delhi Jal Board (DJB) and a private water utility that has been managing the distribution of water supply in the area over the last decade. In 2012, DJB had initiated the pilot project of augmenting the water supply network in select areas of Delhi. Vasant Vihar was one of them. To undertake the project, DJB had signed a contract with MVV Water Utility Pvt Ltd. The areas to be covered under this project include Vasant Vihar, Vasant Enclave, Shanti Niketan, Anand Niketan and Westend. It was expected that after the completion of the project, residents will get 24-hour water supply.

Gaur said that irrespective of the dispute between the two, consumers should not be impacted.

Other residents alleged that authorities, so far, had only been making excuses for the shortfall in supply.

“If you want to genuinely provide good administration in Delhi, please ensure that water supply is properly taken care,” Harjeet S Chopra, a resident of Vasant Vihar, said, adding there has been no water supply in his area for the last 10 days.

“There are so many embassies located in Vasant Vihar. We are suffering due to water supply shortage and authorities should rectify the situation,” Tarun Goel, a resident of the D-block, said.

Meanwhile, Gurpreet Bindra, the president of VVWA said that water supply in the area has been erratic for several years and that the problem is particularly acute in D and E blocks, which are situated at the tail-end of the supply system. “We had a meeting with the DJB VC recently and were assured that the structural problems will be addressed. The water supply to our area originates from Haiderpur and is erratic because our colony is located at the end of the network,” he added.

Bindra said that irrespective of the dispute between MVV and DJB, problems will persist if the structural problems are not addressed and long-term remedial measures taken. “Vasant Vihar should not face water supply shortage while neighbouring colonies are getting water. We are made to suffer over the summer months every year too,” he added.

A spokesperson for DJB declined to comment despite repeated requests.