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C B Singh
CHANDIGARH, April 9: Alarmed by constant complaints of low water pressure in several sectors of the city even before the summer heat reaches its peak, the Municipal Corporation (MC) has banned the use of tap water for washing cars and watering lawns.
The MC has directed the Junior Engineers (JEs) and Sub Divisional Officers (SDOs) of the public health, and roads and horticulture divisions to challan anyone found wasting water or strewing filth on the streets, by invoking the Punjab Municipal Act of 1994.
The MC has been receiving complaints of acute water shortage from residents in densely populated sectors where taps run dry in the upper floors even during the supply hours.
The situation is particularly bad in Sector 20, 21, 22, 29, 31 up to 47, the UT villages and Manimajra. The supply, however, is better in the northern sectors where some senior officials of Punjab, Haryana and UT reside.
Though the public health officials claim that the supply situation is improving, the data on demand and supply presents an extremely bleak picture. The daily requirement of the city is estimated to be 95 million gallons a day (MGD), while it is getting only 58 MGD of water.
The shortfall of 37 MGD rises by an additional 50 per cent during the peak summer months of May to July and the corporation has no means to augment the water supply. This increase in shortfall is attributed to watering of lawns and potted plants, besides the use of an estimated 40,000 coolers by the residents. The officials admit that work on Phase IV of the Kajauli water works, which commenced last year with the clearance from the Central Government, will take at least two to three more years to complete. As such, the officials point out, the Punjab Government has withdrawn the 2.5 MGD of water it was providing earlier.
The summer supply is presently being augmented by using 12 tubewells but they only contribute about 4 MGD of water. The corporation plans to add 10 more tubewells by May this year, for which the boring work has already started.
Apart from the JEs and the SDOs, the Sanitary Inspectors, Supervisors and Assistant Director of Malaria have also been authorised to issue the challans.
Copyright © 1999 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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