Threat, sabotage: How water mafia is holding Gurugram residents to ransom

Residents of Emaar Imperial Garden residential society in Sector 102 were in for a shock on Tuesday morning, as there was no water in their taps.

Gurugram

A view of the damaged pipelines leading to Imperial Garden in Sector 102. (HT Photo)

Around 200 residential societies located along the Dwarka Expressway are being forced to pay “protection money” to the water mafia, residents alleged, after the water pipeline leading to a high-rise in Sector 102 was damaged and supply disrupted as residents refused to pay ₹50,000 to a group that sought the money to ensure “safety of the pipeline”.

Residents of Emaar Imperial Garden residential society in Sector 102 were in for a shock on Tuesday morning, as there was no water in their taps. On enquiry, they found the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority’s (GMDA) master pipeline was axed at multiple points in the wee hours of Tuesday.

Residents immediately connected the damage to the pipeline with a demand for ₹50,000 made a few days ago by water suppliers, who were coercing residents to either pay up or purchase tankers from them for an exorbitant rate of ₹5,000 for a 5,000-litre tanker.

They filed a complaint with the police, but a formal case was yet to be registered at the time of filing the report. Senior police officers said they inspected the spot of pipeline damage and decided to deploy a patrol team to prevent untoward incidents.

Goel said they have not received a complaint against any particular person, so far. “Residents have not mentioned anyone’s name of filed a formal complaint to take action. We have deployed our team for patrol at night and to keep a check on the water pipelines. Also, we will keep a check on the people supplying water tankers in the sectors to ensure safety of residents,” he said.

Sunil Sareen, the deputy convener of Dwarka Expressway Gurugram Development Association (DXP-GDA) and a former RWA president of the Emaar Imperial Gardens society, said that the pipeline is being damaged frequently.

“This is happening frequently and a complaint was already lodged with the Dhankot police station, but to no effect. These miscreants or local goons have been demanding protection money from us, which we refused. The RWA has spent around ₹10 lakh in the past three months on pipeline (repairs) and buying potable water through tankers. On Tuesday morning, we engaged a contractor to put soil on the new pipelines to prevent sabotage,” he said.

Sources in the GMDA acknowledged that the water mafia was behind the crisis, damaging infrastructure and then charging residents exorbitant sums for water tankers and packaged water.

While residents of multiple societies said they wrote to the GMDA to file a police complaint into the issue, GMDA officials said that damage or sabotage to a society’s pipeline was the responsibility of the developer and not the GMDA.

“The developer is responsible for the maintenance of their own pipeline infrastructure laid by them. Any illegal connections, when detected on the water supply pipeline of GMDA, is disconnected by the GMDA team,” Abhinav Verma, executive engineer, GMDA, said.

Vinod Kumar, a resident of Imperial Garden, said that intentional sabotage of the society’s water pipeline forced them to depend on water tankers. “This poses a serious health hazard, apart from the economic penalty. Authorities concerned are requested to take necessary actions to stop this menace,” he said.

Siddharth Pahwa, president of the Imperial Garden’s RWA (residents’ welfare association) said that they have followed all GMDA protocols. “We laid water pipeline from the master pipeline till our society, which is nearly 1.5 kilometres away. Spending money repeatedly takes a toll on us. The RWA has been spending ₹50,000 per day for 15 days a month on water. We want support from Gurugram authorities,” he said.

Residents of other societies said they were also suffering due to the water mafia, but were scared to make a move against them as they engage musclemen to harm them or their families.

A 42-year-old senior executive with a private company, who lives in a society in Sector 102, alleged that the members of the water mafia patrol the sector and keeps a check on the movement of residents to the police station. “They have no mercy and can harm any of us. It is scary to face them; we are paying for our safety. Moving near Dwarka Expressway has been the biggest mistake of our lives,” the resident said, requesting anonymity.

Residents said that already battling summer heat, the pipeline damage has left them grappling with water shortage too. “We are living in constant fear. Every day, we worry that the water will be cut off because we refuse to bow down to these criminals. The authorities need to step in immediately; we cannot live like this,” said Anjali Mehra, a resident of Sector 102.

Yashesh Yadav, president of the Dwarka Expressway Welfare Association, said that they plan to meet with the deputy commissioner of Gurugram to file a complaint. “The goons are locals and we want to organise a meeting to resolve this issue at the earliest. More than 200 societies have been impacted and are paying money for drinking and consumable water as we are left with no option,” he said.

Water suppliers in the area said that they are solely dependent on supplying water to earn a living. “Residents are ready to pay the contractor and buy pipelines, but they don’t want to pay us, who are ready to take responsibility. We have been supplying water for over a decade, but now, people are trying to buy from other areas, impacting our pockets,” said Bhima Singh, a 42-year-old water supplier from Babupur village.