Brace yourself for a water crisis this summer

In its 2008 Summer Action Plan to be presented, the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) has identified five places as the “most critical areas” in terms of water shortage, reports Moushumi Das Gupta.

Residents of Paschim Vihar, RK Puram, Mehrauli, Qutab, Najafgarh and Nangloi have a tough time ahead this summer. Water supply in these areas will take a major hit in these localities.

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In its 2008 Summer Action Plan to be presented on Tuesday, the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) has identified these five places as the “most critical areas” in terms of water shortage.

In 2007 too, the maximum number of water-related complaints were reported from these areas.

Apart from these “most critical areas”, the DJB has also identified over two-dozen “critical areas” in east, south, west, central and north Delhi where water will be in short supply. Some of these areas are Mehrauli, Badarpur, Palam, Mahipalpur, RK Puram in south Delhi, Laxmi Nagar, Mayur Vihar and Patparganj in east Delhi, Mangolpuri, Alipur and parts of Nangloi in west Delhi among others.

As compared with 2006, complaints regarding non-availability of water went up by 66 per cent in west Delhi during 2007. During the same period in central and north Delhi, water related complaints went up by 14 per cent while the figures came down in south and east Delhi.

Senior DJB officials said the problem in these areas was that they were at the tail-end of the water distribution network. “It’s the same problem every year. But whenever we receive complaints, we immediately deploy our tankers in these areas,” said a senior DJB official.

At present, the quantity of water supplied by the DJB is 670 MGD (Million Gallons Per Day).

The board proposes to enhance it by another 49 MGD in 2008. This, the DJB says, will be possible by ensuring optimal utilisation of its water treatment plants and recycling water from them.