The Times of India 17.09.2014
AMC’s shutdown stretches beyond 24 hours
AURANGABAD:
The 24-hour mega shut down of Aurangabad’s water supply system, which
was supposed to come to an end at 9 am on Tuesday, has been extended for
about 7-8 hours, with the authorities failing to complete the repair
work within the stipulated time.
Repair work was initiated on
the two pipelines, of 1,400-mm and 700-mm diameter, that draw water from
the Jayakwadi water reservoir, located 47km from the city. The system
lifts about 130-135 MLD water.
An official of the Aurangabad
Municipal Corporation’s (AMC) water supply department said that
engineers were still working on four different locations between
Jayakwadi dam and the city. “Repair work of the 1,400-mm diameter
pipeline was almost over by 5 pm and engineers are testing it before
switching on the system. However, it will take some more time to put it
into service,” the official said on Tuesday, but refused comment on how
much time the civic body would need to restore the supply. He said that
the work on the 700-mm diameter pipeline was complete and that it has
started supplying water.
“Since water is drawn from the
reservoir located nearly 47km from the city, it will take hours to
restore the supply system,” the official said.
AMC sources said
that it would be impossible for the engineers to complete the work by
Tuesday night. “At the most, they would succeed in supplying 50-55 MLD
water till late in the evening. This will certainly create shortfall of
water,” the official said.
Citizens across Aurangabad started feeling the brunt of the shutdown, especially with it extended, on Tuesday.
Opposition leader in the AMC Raosaheb Gaikwad said that residents in
Kanchanwadi, Nakshatrawadi and Vitkheda have been facing a severe
shortage of water over the past four-five days, with taps running dry.
“The residents could not get water during their last routine turn and
now the system is completely dry. People are going without water for the
past few days; they cannot stretch this any more. The administration
should make provisions immediately,” said Gaikwad.
“Citizens
are are co-operating with the AMC authorities, because they want to see a
significant improvement in the water supply system in the coming days,”
said corporator Mir Hidayat Ali.
With no sign of immediate
relief, people are clueless about how to mitigate the water shortage and
manage enough water to meet their daily requirements, Ali said.
