Gurgaon: Contaminated tap water worries Sector 23 residents

When repeated complaints to the authorities fell on deaf ears, residents stopped using the contaminated water and hired private tankers to meet their day-to-day needs.

In a development that has evoked concerns over the health of city residents, the drinking water taps in many houses in Sector 23 have been throwing up traces of sewer water since last Friday.

A Sector 23 resident shows the dirty water being supplied for the last one week. (Parveen Kumar/ HT Photo)

The residents said they repeatedly rang up the Huda and MCG offices on all five days that they got contaminated water, but to no avail. They said they even took the online route and posted complaints on the MCG portal, apart from the approaching the Huda officials for action, but nothing happened.

Fed up with the authorities, the residents stopped using the contaminated water and hired private tankers to meet their day-to-day needs. They said they have to shell out ₹1,200-₹1,500 per tanker every day. They said they were left with little choice as the MCG and Huda were dragging their feet in the matter.

The residents feel let down as the Huda transferred the sector to the MCG a year ago in the interest of the ensuring better civic maintenance and upkeep. They claimed the Huda officials turned down their appeal to attend to the problem urgently. They said even the MCG officials were unmoved by their plight saying there are no issues with the supply system for the entire sector.

“On the first day we got contaminated water, we took pictures of bottles filled with dirty water and sent them to MCG officials through Whatsapp and email. We spoke to Vikas Malik and MR Sharma, the MCG’s executive engineer and chief engineer, urging them to have the problem fixed. We’re shocked and surprised that despite being such senior officials, they continue to ignore our complaints for action. How could they lose sight of the serious health hazard that we are facing?” Anju Kapur, a resident, said.

Jinender Singh, another resident, said, “The water we are getting is black and laced with dust. It even smells bad and is simply not fit for consumption. This has been happening since last Friday. We fear there is a rupture in the pipeline somewhere and it needs to be located and fixed at the earliest. For now, we have to make do with private water suppliers, but it can’t be a permanent solution. The onus is on the MCG and Huda to repair the line and ensure we get clean water.”

Quizzed on the matter, an MCG official said the damaged portion of the pipeline could be outside the sector, and hence, outside their jurisdiction.

“Our jurisdiction is only till the internal water supply line. However, we will fix the problem once we locate the rupture,” MR Sharma, chief engineer, MCG, said.

Huda administrator Yashpal Yadav also assured he will send engineers to find the cause of contamination and resolve the problem.