Water woes soared for tony south Delhi in 2012: DJB

Water problems for posh south Delhi have soared, forcing residents to call up Delhi Jal Board’s emergency service stations more often. HT reports.

Water problems for posh south Delhi have soared, forcing residents to call up Delhi Jal Board’s emergency service stations more often.

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An analysis of complaints received at DJB water emergency stations for 2011 and 2012 show that calls from south Delhi have increased compared to 2011.

Problems for which residents sought help ranged from calls for tankers, bad water quality, sewage problems and billing-related issues.

Greater Kailash, for instance, registered 37,278 complaints in 2012 compared to 28,123 in 2011. Similarly, Sarita Vihar station saw 5,492 complaints (2012) compared to 4,150 (2011) while Chhatarpur registered 11,610 complaints (2012) compared to 9,886 (2011).

“It could have been way too higher. There are many people in GK who call in a private tanker rather than wait for a DJB tanker. Plus, more and more people buy bottled water for drinking and several of them have borewells,” said Rajiv Kakria, an activist citizen of Greater Kailash.

DJB also included new areas, including 100 unauthorised colonies, under the ambit of such emergencies.

The total number of complaints received at its total 24 water emergencies was 19% more in 2012 (1,71,592) compared to 1,44,055 in 2011.

“The analysis focuses attention on areas with greater number of complaints. We re-allocate our resources ahead of the summer based on this data,” said Sanjam Chima, Consultant (Public Relations) for DJB.

Incidentally, a recent report by Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) had observed how DJB was also supplying water through tankers to areas connected by distribution lines.

“The reason for shortage of water in these areas is installation of online booster pumps by the consumers. As per information furnished by DJB, more than seven lakh people were affected due to shortage of water in areas covered through distribution lines,” the report said.

DJB explained to CAG that action against illegal installation of online booster pumps is taken “only when a specific complaint is received”.

CAG slammed the water utility saying: “DJB’s approach towards removal of illegal online boosters was not proactive.”