``We are extremely relieved to see good water flowing through our taps now instead of the smelly muddy yellow water, and are just about getting used to the idea of living without the once all important aqua bottles,'' said Farhat Shaikh, a resident of Roshni Building on Clare Road.

Her 13-year-old daughter, Shoa Shaikh, who has just recovered from typhoid, is also happy that the BMC has finally set right its water supply lines to the area. ``For the last three months I had developed a morbid fear of even brushing my teeth as the basin water smelt like it came from the gutter. In spite of the BMC asking us to take Metronidazole tablets as a precautionary measure, I had suffered from typhoid,'' said Shoa.

On August 10, Express Newsline had reported how Clare Road residents had to buymineral water due to a prolonged water crisis in the area. The `E' Ward Office had received nearly 150 complaints from residents in this regard.

When contacted today, the ward officer, K V Acharekar, commented: ``The water supply lines at Clare Road were probably damaged during the recent concretization of the road. We have done the needful to ensure clean drinking water in the area.''

Acharekar admitted that the water lines run parallel to the sewers, as per the original layout in the city. ``But if the water pipelines are properly sealed, then there should not be any problem,'' he reasoned.

``After the news had appeared in Express Newsline, several BMC health officers visited Clare Road to check if the water was really so bad. We had actually challenged the civic officials to drink even half-a-glass of tap water from our homes, but they did not dare do so!'' added another resident, who had spent nearly Rs 7,000 over the last three months buying mineral water.