Agencies fail to act as residents complain of water contamination

The tap water in your house, which appears clean, might be carrying a host of germs. Claims of residents complaining about contaminated water have been corroborated by the MCD's health department which claims that a number of water pipelines are crossing through sewerage lines of DJB.

The tap water in your house, which appears clean, might be carrying a host of germs. Claims of residents complaining about contaminated water have been corroborated by the MCD's health department which claims that a number of water pipelines are crossing through sewerage lines of DJB.

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As many as 67 pipelines in the city are crossing through sewerage lines of Delhi Jal Board (DJB). This data was found during an inspection carried over six months by the MCD after it received reports of more than 200 cases of cholera being reported from across the city.

While residents have been complaining to the DJB but they claim till date no action has been taken by the board.

"In our areas the pipelines are very old and were laid nearly 25 years back. Over a period of time they have rusted and sewage water gets mixed with drinking water which is supplied to our area. We have been writing to DJB officials about it but so far no action has been taken. I have been getting numerous complaints from the residents," said Harvinder Singh, general secretary of Lajpat Nagar III Resident Welfare Association (RWA).

He further said that in Lajpat Nagar III, block K, H, F, are facing an acute problem.

"The pipelines that carry the water in our colony were laid many years back and have rusted over a period of time. Hence, initially for at least 20 odd minutes the water that we get is brownish in colour which starts to improve if we leave the tap running for sometime," said Subash Sahni, president of C-4, RWA, Vasant Kunj.

To overcome the problem, a number of residents have taken recourse to packaged water or have hired water tankers.

"We have been ordering 20 litre mineral water bottles everyday for a family of five members. Even the tanks are being treated with potassium permanganate so that the running water is usable," said Romy Anand, a resident of Sarita Vihar.

"The RO machine water also has an acrid smell and is not fit for consumption. This problem has been going on since the last three-four months and no one in the DJB is paying heed to our complaints," Anand added.