E-Paper
Noida to get drinking water through tankers at least till Diwali due to cleaning of Ganga canal
The Uttar Pradesh irrigation department on October 7 started the annual cleaning of silt in the upper Ganga water canal that supplies drinking water to Noida and Ghaziabad. According to Noida authority officials, the problem of water shortage is going to persist beyond Diwali, as the cleaning exercise is going to continue till November 9.
The Noida authority on Sunday said that it is supplying drinking water to residents and industrial units through tankers, as the Ganga water supply has been halted due to cleaning work.
The Uttar Pradesh irrigation department on October 7 started the annual cleaning of silt in the upper Ganga water canal that supplies drinking water to Noida and Ghaziabad. According to Noida authority officials, the problem of water shortage is going to persist beyond Diwali, as the cleaning exercise is going to continue till November 9.
Scores of residents from various sectors across the city held a meeting with Noida authority officials on Saturday, concerned about the short supply of water in their areas. The meeting comprised representation from multiple colonies, including sectors 11,12,15,19,20,21,26,27,30,34,35,36,51,52,53, etc. Other issues raised in the meeting were the reduced supply time in many sectors, the poor quality of water being supplied and the lack of water pressure.
Presently, the total demand of water in Noida is 332 MLD (million litres per day). The authority supplies 56% Ganga water and 44% groundwater. However the officials said that the drinking water supply is affected only in a few areas.
“Due to cleaning of the Ganga canal, our water supply has been disrupted in the residential area of Sector 12 and the industrial areas of sectors 8, 9 and 10. We are supplying 1,50,000 liters of water daily through tankers to residential areas in blocks W, Y and Z in Sector 12 and sectors 8, 9 and 10,” SC Arora, senior project engineer who heads the water department of the Noida authority, said.
The authority uses 30 tankers daily to supply drinking water to areas whose residents complain of low water supply. Residents have been complaining of low water pressure in many areas since the cleaning of the Ganga canal started.
“We are witnessing water supply issues now as the water is not reaching the second floor. The water we are getting is muddy. The authority should take appropriate steps at the earliest, so that these issues can be addressed,” Anand Singh Chauhan, a resident of Sector 52, said.
The authority officials said that due to the halting of the Ganga water supply, the water pressure in residential areas is low because they are unable to get adequate supply from their resources. According to the authority officials, four Ranney wells built in the park opposite Sector 15A along the Yamuna embankment road have been facing issues for quite a while.
“We need to dig deep bore-wells because we are getting more silt and less water from four water-pumping stations as four of 10 Ranney wells are not working properly. Water supply will be adequate again once the cleaning of Ganga canal is complete on November 9,” Arora said.
