Muddy water problem persists for Chandigarh residents
MC officials said the water supply from their end is fine, but pipes going from the main supply to the complex will have to be changed by residents, as per MC bylaws
Many Chandigarh residents have been receiving muddy water in their supply for over a month now. Some resident welfare associations (RWAs) have approached the authorities to get the issue resolved.
Colonel Gursewak Singh (retired), president of Modern Housing Complex (MHC) in Sector 13 (Manimajra) said, “Our underground water distribution system is over 30-years-old and needs to be replaced. As per MC bylaws, authorities are asking residents to fix the supply pipes themselves. However, for the 2,000 odd houses here, the MC needs to step up or small faults and pipe bursts will continue.”
Singh has written to UT adviser Manoj Parida and said that as Covid-19 cases have cropped up in Manimajra, residents need to keep their immunity up and drinking muddy water will put them at risk.
Speaking on the issue, local area councillor, Jagtar Singh Jagga said, “We are using a super suction machine to refresh pipes and free them from any contamination. The work is about 70% complete and will be finished in a couple of days. Further, Manimajra will soon have new pipes installed under the 24x7 water supply scheme for which we have received Rs 162 crore under the Smart City Project. This issue will be resolved within a few months.”
MC officials said the water supply from their end is fine, but pipes going from the main supply to the complex will have to be changed by residents, as per MC bylaws.
Residents of other sectors are also suffering due to muddy water in their supply.
Federation of Sector Welfare Associations Chandigarh (FOSWAC) chairman Baljinder SIngh Bittu said, “In almost all sectors, when we open the tap, the initial supply of water is muddy. In some sectors, it improves fast, while in others, it takes time.”
Bittu, a resident of Sector 21, added that many citizens in Sectors 21 and 20 were receiving muddy water as well and he had complained to MC authorities regarding this.
President of the Sector 38 West RWA, Pankaj Gupta added, “Around 10 days back, only a few pockets of EWS houses near Dadu Majra village were receiving muddy water. But now, it has spread to other parts of the sector. We can see dust particles in the water whenever we have fill a bucket.”
MC councillor Anil Kumar Dubey, chairman of the MC’s water supply committee said he will look into the matter. “Due to usage of tullu pumps, the water supply can get muddy. But, there is no large scale fault on the MC’s part,” Dubey said.