In an attempt to ease the water woes of Thaneiites, a proposal for additional water supply from the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) was passed in the General Body Meeting of the Thane Municip

Over 50,000 residents of Palampur and adjoining areas are being forced to consume muddy and contaminated drinking water as the water treatment plants of the Irrigation and Public Health (IPH) Department have virtually become non-functional. Though the state government had spent crores of rupees on the water treatment plants installed at Bundla village near the town but it hardly functions to the satisfaction of the residents, who have to consume contaminated and muddy water which carries mud insects and other foreign material. Many residents said when it rained the water treatment plant stops functioning and muddy and contaminated water was supplied to them. Officials of the IPH Department blame the power company which is executing a hydel project near the town to have damaged the drinking water sources by reckless cutting of hills and the entire silt and mud flow to the water reservoirs. The water tanks of the IPH Department are in a bad shape. There is no regular cleaning of these tanks. Most of the water tanks were full of mud, leaves and insects. In absence of the boundary wall stray animals freely enter inside the water treatment plant complex. These animals could fall in the water tanks any time. The officials of the IPH Department were unconcerned with the situation, it seems that no official had ever visited these water tanks. Official sources revealed that the state government had spent over Rs 3 crore on water treatment system installed for the town recently, but in the absence of proper maintenance and repair the plant was not functioning to the satisfaction of the consumers.

Haryana continues to withhold city's share of drinking water Water production in two of the Capital's water treatment plants has also come down "We are hoping the CWC will get Haryana to release more water to our demand' NEW DELHI: There is no let-up in Delhi's water crisis as Haryana continues to withhold the city's share of drinking water. The water production in two of the Capital's water treatment plants has also come down, affecting large parts of North and Central Delhi. While production at Chandrawal on Monday came down by 30 per cent, the reduction at Wazirabad is almost 50 per cent. "Despite our repeated reminders and requests, Haryana has refused to release our full share of water. We have reduced water production at both the plants to maintain the critical pond level at Wazirabad,' said a Delhi Jal Board official. He said the Board had again urged the Central Water Commission to intervene. "We are hoping the CWC will get Haryana to release more water to meet our drinking water needs.' In the absence of the required quantum of water, several parts of the NDMC area including residences of VIPs and some parts of North Delhi including Model Town, Civil Lines and Kingsway Camp have been experiencing water shortage. Referring to the water crisis, Jal Board's Chief Executive Officer Arun Mathur said: "Even if Haryana is getting less water from Bhakra Beas Management Board, it cannot arbitrarily cut Delhi's share. The water sharing agreement does not give them the discretion to reduce the quantity meant for the Capital.' He said taking note of the impending summer, the Board is prepared to bring the issue to the notice of the "highest authorities' and the Chief Minister too has expressed concern over Haryana's refusal to stick to the water sharing agreement. "The Chief Minister has made it clear that the issue will be taken to the highest levels. She said the Delhi Government would do whatever is required to secure Delhi's share from the Yamuna waters,' Mr. Mathur added.

The water crisis that has been plaguing the Capital since last Friday is threatening to get worse. Several parts of north, northwest Delhi and NDMC areas have been getting a highly erratic supply and authorities see no respite from the situation till the end of this week at least. The matter has been taken to the Upper Yamuna River Board and chief minister Sheila Dikshit will take up the issue with authorities concerned if the situation doesn't improve soon. The 120 million gallon per day (MGD) Wazirabad plant and the 90 MGD Chandrawal plant are working to only about 70% of their capacity as Haryana, claim Delhi Jal Board officials, has reduced supply to the Capital from 300 MGD to about 250 MGD.

A group of residents of Marathi Ward, Zuarinagar, confronted officials at the PWD office in Baina on Monday, to complain about the erratic water supply for the last 20 days. Accompanied by local Panch Nilesh Dalvi, the residents confronted Assistant Engineer (AE) M S Kunju and demanded immediate water supply to the affected areas. While threatening to damage the main pipeline, which supplies water to the entire Zuarinagar, the residents have warned an agitation at the Margao PWD office, if authorities failed to restore regular water supply within a specified time. Anticipating the tension situation in the office, Mr Kunju asked Dalvi and a junior officer to accompany him to identify the area affected by irregular water supply. After inspecting the pipeline, which connects the particular area, Mr Kunju assured the crowd that regular water supply would be restored within a week. Mr Dalvi alleged that two PWD tankers, allotted to the area, were seen providing water to the hotel lobby and other influential colonies. Mr Kunju explained that the shortfall in water supply was due to augmentation work at the Salaulim water plant, the altitude of the affected area and the increase in new water connections. He pointed out that the situation was worse last year and the installation of two high capacity pumps had solved the problem to a large extent this year. Refuting these claims, Mr Dalvi sought to know how influential colonies and establishments were provided with regular water supply in the same geographic location.

The Delhi government is planning to go to the Supreme Court to seek a direction to the Haryana government for releasing adequate water from Tajewala so that the Yamuna reaches an optimum level in the national Capital. Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said that neighbouring state governments were aware of Delhi's problem. Thousands of people come from various states. There is pressure of civic amenities and water supply of the Capital. Still some times Uttar Pradesh reduces water supply to Sonia Vihar and some times Haryana. Now the government will approach the Supreme Court to get its share of water, she said. Two water treatment plants

Frazzled by the frequent disruptions in the supply of water meant for the Capital, the Delhi Jal Board wants the Centre to step in and ensure that Haryana sticks to the terms of water sharing agreement signed by the two States. Delhi and Haryana have been at loggerheads over the sharing of Yamuna waters and the recurrent reduction in the city's share over the past few months has brought matters to a boil. Options DJB officials say with most options already exhausted, the Board is now exploring the possibility of getting the Centre to establish a central monitoring mechanism that will act as a referee. "Our officials have been communicating with their counterparts in Haryana, we have already brought the issue to the attention of the Chief Secretary Haryana, written to the Central Water Commission and the Upper Yamuna River Board and even sent a legal notice with regard to the violation of agreement on providing water for the Nangloi plant,' said Arun Mathur, the Chief Executive Officer of the Board. A central monitoring mechanism he explained "would help in keeping a check on the flow of water between Haryana and Delhi.' "A neutral party that will keep an eye on the sharing of water will be able to alert both the States as soon as it observes a dip in the water levels of the Yamuna. We are only asking Haryana to abide by the agreement that has been signed and give Delhi its legitimate share of water,' he said. Mr. Mathur said while the Board is hopeful of getting Haryana to release the scheduled quantum of water, it wants to rule out any possibility of water shortage during the coming summer months. VIP areas Many parts of the city including the VIP areas have been witnessing water shortage for the past few days. Production of water at Chandrawal and Wazirabad water treatment plants has reduced following a cut in the water supplied by Haryana.

The Leader of the Opposition in the Delhi Assembly, Jagdish Mukhi, has written to Union Water Resources Minister Saifuddin Soz drawing his attention to the Capital's water woes and demanding proper allocation of the Yamuna waters. He has urged the Union Minister to convene a meeting of the Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh governments to discuss the issue of water sharing and to evolve a strategy to ensure that all States get their allocated share. Referring to the 1994 agreement on water sharing among Delhi, Rajasthan, Haryana and Punjab, and the decision to construct a pucca canal for carrying water from Haryana to Delhi, the BJP leader said the Congress Government had failed to ensure timely construction of that canal. "The Delhi Government was directed to get the pucca Munak canal constructed, through which water would reach Delhi from Tajewala. It is a matter of concern that in spite of the lapse of 12 years the canal has not been constructed,' the letter stated. Pointing out that almost a third of Delhi is deprived of potable water today, Prof. Mukhi said the recent reduction in water supply had compounded the woes of the people. Cautioning that the ground water level in the Capital was fast depleting, Prof. Mukhi said at some places the level had reached a precarious stage. Seeking Prof. Soz's intervention, Prof. Mukhi said the Centre should find a solution to the water crisis in the Capital, which had become a perennial problem. The letter also referred to the flow of sewage into the Yamuna, which is making the process of river cleaning impossible despite a huge amount of money being spent on the cleaning works.