Residents facing shortage of water try to install private tubewell in Ludhiana, officials confiscate equipment
Residents threaten to hold a sit-in outside residences of the mayor and the MC commissioner with empty buckets on Monday if the MC fails to solve the problem within 24 hours
Irked over no water supply for months, residents of New Sundar Nagar (ward number 31) commenced the installation of a tubewell in their area on their own on Saturday amid a protest against councillor Sonia Sharma and the municipal corporation (MC).
After getting information about the same, a team of MC officials, along with police force, reached the spot and confiscated the equipment. The residents, however, threatened if the MC failed to solve the problem within 24 hours, they would hold a sit-in outside residences of the mayor and the MC commissioner with empty buckets on Monday.
Residents rued they had been facing the problem of water scarcity for years and the authorities had provided only a temporary solution to the problem. But, for the past few months, they said, they had been facing a lot of trouble and the authorities have failed to pay any heed to the problem.
A resident, Rakesh Kumar, said, “Several complaints have been made to the authorities and councillor Sonia Sharma in the past, but no one is paying heed to the problem while we are continuing facing an acute shortage of water. The authorities are asking us to maintain hand hygiene, but water is not being provided in the area even for drinking.”
SAD leader Sandeep Shukla said, “A few property dealers have constructed illegal colonies in the New Sundar Nagar area and now, neither the colonisers nor the MC, is providing facilities to residents. The residents are forced to bring water from nearby areas or from the houses where submersible pumps have been installed. Besides lodging several complaints, we also contacted mayor Balkar Singh Sandhu on Saturday, who assured to look into the problem.”
BJP councillor Sonia Sharma said, “Residents are facing shortage of water due to the construction of illegal colonies in the area and the supply of water is less than demand. I had raised the issue in the meeting of the MC General House also, but no action was taken against such colonies. The MC should take action against illegal colonies and their connections should be snapped.”
Sandhu said, “I have asked the officials to find a solution to the problem and soon water supply would be resumed in the area. Officials have also been told to send water tanks in the area for supplying potable water.”