Using AC, cooler a luxury

SK Pandey, a resident of Dwarka, bought an air conditioner, as he was unable to run his desert cooler without water.

SK Pandey, a resident of Dwarka, bought an air conditioner, as he was unable to run his desert cooler without water.

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“We get the water supply through DDA, once in a day. But the timings are not fixed. Often, we get the water supply at 9 pm. We had desert coolers for our use but jab peene ke liye pani nahi toh cooler mein daalne ke liye kahan se layein? (When we don’t have water to drink, from where do we get water to fill up our coolers?). That is why we bought an air conditioner this year. It is expensive to run, but what can we do, garmi mein kaise rahein (how do we survive in this hot weather,” said Pandey.

The Pandey family now faces a new difficulty.

Since they were able to buy only one air conditioner, all six members of the family have to sleep in one room.

“The market price of our flat is more than Rs 70 lakh, but even our basic needs are not met. The supply of water is erratic. For some days it is fine and at times we don’t have any supply for days,” said Pandey.