Ganga water shutdown leaves Noida sectors parched | Hindustan Times
Noida: With Ganga water supply suspended for annual maintenance, several areas of Noida, including sectors 71, 72, 31, 55 and 56, are struggling to meet their water requirements.
Officials have assured that Ganga water supply was likely to resume around November 10. (HT Photo)Residents said they are dependent on private water tankers to actually meet their daily needs during this festive season apart from the Noida authority’s water supply.
Officials have assured that Ganga water supply was likely to resume around November 10.
A notice issued by the Noida authority’s water department on October 15, reviewed by HT, said Ganga water supply would remain affected till November 7 from October 21 due to annual maintenance of canal. It also directed officials to ensure adequate water supply wherever necessary.
The exercise involves desilting the Ganga canal, removing accumulated silt, sand and other debris.
Noida’s current water demand is around 406 million litres per day (MLD). Under normal circumstances, the city receives around 415 MLD of Ganga water. Around 80% of Noida’s water supply depends on Ganga, the remainder comes from tubewells and rainwater sources, officials said.
Although the annual shutdown is a routine exercise, some residents said they never experienced such a severe water shortage.
“The situation has become dire over the past six days. We have around 7,000 residents relying on this water supply. While such disruptions happen every year, the situation this time is unprecedented. The private water is also costing us more due to high demand. After complaints, the Authority sent water tankers, forcing residents to queue up with buckets. But it is quite a challenge for people living on third or fourth floor to carry buckets.” said RWA general secretary of Shiv Shakti, Sector 71.
“The authority sends around two water tankers (approximately 2,000 litres), which proves inadequate. Residents are hiring private water tankers for around ₹2,000.”
Noida Authority officials claimed that tankers carrying 2,000 or 4,000 litres were being deployed.
“There is virtually no water supply. There are around 2,000 residents, and most are not receiving water…,” said Satish Pandey, president of the Sector 72 RWA.
Satyanarayan Goel, president of the Sector 55 RWA, said residents had been facing inadequate water pressure for the past seven days, with supply lasting less than an hour. “We have around 8,000 people living in the sector, and residents are relying on private water tankers,” he said.
KK Jain, general secretary of the Federation of Noida Residents Welfare Association (FONRWA), said the authority should deploy tankers equipped with pumps to supply water directly to household tanks.
HT had reported water supply issues in Sector 56 on October 23, when residents said they had been facing a shortage for about a fortnight, even before the Ganga water supply shutdown began. Residents said the situation remained unchanged since then.
In some sectors, residents said though the water supply is available but it’s not drinkable. “We are getting water. However, the quality is so poor and the water looks yellowish,” said Mohinder Singh, a Sector 40 RWA general secretary.
Senior managers with the Noida authority said that some other issues which had compounded the water shortage, are now resolved.
Ashok Verma, a senior manager with the Noida authority, said a power outage on Monday had worsened the situation in Sectors 55 and 56. “While water supply may not return completely to normal, there would be some improvement. We are doing whatever is possible from our end,” he said.
UPPCL officials, however, denied any electric supply issue.
Pradeep Kumar, senior manager in the Noida authority’s water department, denied that the supply had stopped completely. He added that a burst pipeline and a tubewell issue in Sector 71, worsened the situation. “The issue has been fixed. Although supply may not return to 100%, we hope there will be some relief,” he said.
