The Deccan Chronicle  02.09.2010

Hyderabad, Sept. 1: The voluntary disclosure scheme by the Water Board to regularise illegal water connections seems to have been a wasted effort and the Board is now planning disconnection drives to tackle the illegal water connection problem.

Less than 700 applications have been submitted seeking regularisation despite a preliminary survey putting the number of illegal connections at over 50,000 in the city with a majority of them being in surrounding municipalities. Enquiries revealed that the Water Board does not have proper data on the number of, let alone illegal connections.

With the scheme scheduled to end on September 14, the Water Board has constituted special “disconnection gangs.” The Water Board managing director, Mr M. Jagadeeshwar, said these teams would be instructed to be “merciless” in their drive to weed out and disconnect illegal water connections from September 15.

Meanwhile, the citizens from surrounding municipalities have accused the Water Board of “launching a blind chase to raise revenues.” A large number of consumers said their water connections were legitimate and records of the same were available with the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation.

Enquiries revealed that the Water Board does not have accurate data on the number of connections in surrounding municipalities as these were earlier under the control of GHMC. The GHMC handed over about one lakh connections in surrounding municipalities to the Water Board in May 2009. The GHMC could not provide data on all the consumers. As a result, several legitimate consumers were listed under the “illegal connections” category in the Water Board’s survey.

The Pioneer  31.08.2010

Staff Reporter | New Delhi

With water level plummeting in the Yamuna in the Capital, the city administration heaved a sigh of relief on Monday. With no surge of water from neighbouring Haryana, it plunged to 204. 53 metres mark 30 centimetres below the danger level.

After crossing the red mark, the torrential river kept flowing the above the 204.83 metres (danger level) for 10 days continuously. The water level in the largest tributary of Ganga was gauged at 205. 97 meters-the season’s highest on Sunday early morning.

But soon, it began to recede, which was certainly good news for the various bodies including Irrigation and Flood Control (I&FC) Department of Delhi Government, Delhi Traffic Police and MCD.

The senior official of the I & FC department said on Monday the Yamuna did not received no water from the Hathni Kund formerly known as Tajewala near Yamuna Nagar district in Haryana. "Haryana did not discharge water on Monday, which brought the water level in Yamuna in the city down. It has been dipping speedily. As of now, chances of water level rising further are grim. It has surely brought a kind of relief for all of us, who have been on our toes for last ten days," said he.

He also said the water level is going down; the water has also coming out from low lying area near the river bed. "The water has also started receding in colonies like Garhi Mandu, Jagat Pur, Old Usmanpur. But it has been advised people not to shift there as still, the area has water," said the officer. Official of the office of Divisional Commissioner stated though the water has notably receded in the residential area, temporary accommodation provided by the government will remain there for more days.

"After the flood, there are maximum chances of epidemic of water borne deceases in the region. We have set up teams of doctors and supporting staff to provide the health services to affected people. They will visit the areas also. We want before allowing people to go back in their houses, the area should be sanitized. The MCD is already doing. They will also spray anti-malaria or dengue chemicals," said the officer.

Meanwhile, several residents have begun to go back to their places. Mukh Ram, a resident of Garhi Mandu said the situation is becoming normal as the water level has decreased. "The water has reached seven feet in our locality but at present it is barely knee deep water. Those who were putting up at their terrace, has come down, but still we could not bring our animals," he said.