Nagpur: Amid the debate over how much area of the city is getting 24×7 water, residents of more than 30 localities in North Nagpur are facing scarcity as thousands of litres of potable water is going down the drain 24×7 due to unattended leakage in the main pipeline for the last six months.
Residents of several localities including Kadu Layout, Tarkeshwar Nagar, Shende Nagar, Kapil Nagar, Mhada Colony and many others in the vicinity of Rajgruha Nagar complained to TOI about water scarcity, mainly because of the leakage.
Following this, Team TOI visited Rajgruha Nagar and spotted water leaking continuously from the pipeline between a road and a Nagpur Improvement Trust playground, which has turned into a pond literally.
“The water has been leaking for the last six months without Orange City Water taking any action,” said Sheela Dongre, a resident.
Former Congress corporator Manoj Sangole said this leak has been around for the last many months and despite several complaints, neither water works department officials nor the Orange City Water have initiated measures to stop the wastage.
“Due to the accumulated water, children are deprived of using the playground, which has become an ideal place for pigs. It has also become a mosquito-breeding spot,” said a miffed Dongre.
The unplugged leaking pipeline is also causing many areas in the locality to receive contaminated water, said Sangole. Recently, another former corporator Neha Nikose, who also stays in the vicinity, had submitted a memorandum over the issue. But in vain.
Despite repeated attempts, OCW spokesperson did not respond to TOI calls and messages.
TOI recently reported NMC having no record of 267.14 million litres daily (MLD) of the 658.9 MLD treated water it supplies to the city. The latest water audit by the OCW reveals it is billing only for 391.76 MLD treated water. Thus, despite privatisation, 49.78% of treated water remains unbilled in Ashi Nagar zone, while a large section of people is deprived of the precious commodity despite supplying 67.7 MLD water to the zone. This also puts a question mark over the claims of ensuring tap water in every household.
“Such a huge amount of non-revenue water in the zone puts a big question mark over success of the water supply privatisation,” said Sangole.
Nikose feels the OCW is not plugging the leakage due to its nexus with tanker operators. The leakage is creating an ‘artificial’ water scarcity and this is also leading to low pressure supply in many localities including Rajgruha Nagar, said Nikose.
Residents of Tarkeshwar Nagar, where water shortage has made lives miserable, are angry to see water going waste like this.
Jaspal Singh Lahore, a resident of Tarkeshwar Nagar, who along with 1,500-odd residents have been struggling for potable water and depends on tankers, wondered why the OCW is not taking measures to plug the leak to check the colossal waste. NMC is supplying water through 20 tankers in Tarkeshwar Nagar.
Shashikala Jibhkar, a resident of Kadu Layout, too expressed anguish over the wastage as in her locality there is no tap water. “Though pipelines have been laid at least a year ago, these have not been charged,” said Jibhkar.
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Originally Appeared Here