Even as the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) claims to provide adequate water supply, the residents of Kharghar, Taloja and Panvel belt of Navi Mumbai have said there is no respite from the water crisis.
Residents of Mahavir Heritage CHS, Kharghar Sector 35G spent nearly ₹10 lakh last month only on water tankers. “We have to spend lakhs of rupees merely on tankers as the authority has failed to provide the basic facility. The water required by the society is 240 units per day but CIDCO, since mid-February, has managed to provide only 100 units. CIDCO has assured that water will be regulated by May 10 but we are not sure,” said PK Singh, secretary of Mahavir Heritage CHS.
Recently, CIDCO had provided a helpline number to avail tanker services as and when required. Residents have dubbed the move to be an eyewash. “No one answers the number given and even if someone does answer, the required quantity of tankers are not be provided,” said Jyoti Nadkarni, resident of Hyde Park CHS, Kharghar Sector 35G.
This society is stated to be acquiring nearly 25 tanks on a daily basis. “Our society comprising 764 flats requires nearly five lakh litres of water on a daily basis. Since CIDCO-provided water is hardly sufficient, we are forced to avail water through private tankers,” she said.
A single tanker, residents stated, could cost anywhere between ₹2,000 and ₹3,000. Social networking mediums like Twitter are abuzz with aggrieved residents from the node seeking response from CIDCO for failing to provide adequate water.
Mangesh Ranawade, chairman of Kharghar Taloja Welfare Association, said, “The Hetwane dam has adequate water. Therefore, the issue is in distribution at CIDCO’s end from the water purification site situated in Pen Taluka. The water pipeline distribution network is not adequate enough to provide the 150MLD water required for this region.”
The residents’ grievances are also about CIDCO’s failure to comply with its assurances of upgrading the water supply system for the affected nodes.
CIDCO, however, maintains all efforts to streamline the process of water supply are undertaken. Measures highlighted were seeking 50MLD water supply from Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation, making an elevated storage reservoir with a capacity of 20 lakh litres functional in Kharghar Sector 18.
“A few societies might be facing issues with water supply. Otherwise, in major parts of Kharghar and other nodes, water supply is adequate. In fact the work on the pipeline in Ulwe Sectors 16 and 17 is nearing completion. Water pressure in Hetwane is also being regularly monitored,” said an official from the water department, CIDCO.