E-Paper
Lok Sabha Elections 2019: 1,200 Undri residents to boycott polls unless provided water supply
The residents of Palace Orchard have put up a huge hoarding on the NIBM-Undri road stating, ‘we pay corporation tax and water tax but still no water’
The residents of Palace Orchard Cooperative Housing Society, Undri have been waiting for regular water supply since 1996. After several years of waiting patiently 1,200 residents have decided to boycott this year’s Lok Sabha elections and will not cast their vote unless there are provided with regular water supply in their society.
Hemant Tripathi, a resident of the society who initiated the No water, no vote campaign said, “We have not been receiving regular water supply since 1996. We require at least 21 water tankers everyday and spend Rs 3 lakh every month just on water. It is very frustrating that our lives have become dependent on the water tankers even for the smallest of the task of taking a bath. The residents will not cast their votes unless we get regular water supply.”
The residents of Palace Orchard have put up a huge hoarding on the NIBM-Undri road stating, ‘we pay corporation tax and water tax but still no water’.
Ashit Jadhav, PMC executive engineer, Swargate Water Works, visited the society last week to conduct a survey and understand their problem said, “Earlier Undri was receiving water from Lashkar Water supply department and this society is at the tail end of the connections, besides, this society has been constructed on a higher ground level which is why they do not receive water supply.”
He added, “With Undri being merged with PMC we are now trying to get a connection from Swargate water supply. According to me, the connection needs to be modified and a new network of pipelines is needed. I am trying to initiate a regular supply of water by providing more tankers to the society.”
Another resident Sanjay Sahani said, “We are forced to conduct this campaign as water is a basic necessity. We have written to the concerned authorities, however, our complaints fell on deaf ears. The local corporator says that nothing can be done as the model code of conduct has come into effect. We have been using water tankers for 20 years and get only 1 or 2 tankers from PMC.”
The residents also said that they have been paying the water tax on time, however they have never received a positive response from the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC).
