The Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC), despite its claims of no water shortage, has been compelled to enforce a six-hour daily water supply and deploy six additional tankers per zone to address escalating complaints of low pressure and erratic distribution across the city.
High-Level Meeting Directives
During a high-level meeting on Thursday, the water works department was instructed to immediately scale up tanker operations for the peak summer months. Water works committee chairperson Divya Dhurde informed the Times of India that 36 tankers are already in service, with fresh orders to increase by six more tankers in each of the city's 10 zones for network areas.
Water Supply Statistics
This decision comes even though the NMC is currently pumping 765 million liters per day (MLD) of water — 220 MLD from the Kanhan River and 545 MLD from the Pench reservoir — raising serious questions about distribution efficiency rather than water availability.
Zonal sabhapatis highlighted widespread complaints of low-pressure supply, exposing gaps in the much-publicized water management system. The situation is worsened by massive losses, with nearly 220 MLD classified as non-revenue water, primarily due to leakages and pipeline failures.
Leakage Detection and Complaint Resolution
In a delayed response, Orange City Water Limited (OCWL) has been directed to procure 10 leakage detection machines, up from the current three, and recruit skilled manpower to plug losses. The panel also issued strict directives to resolve contaminated water complaints within two days, a recurring issue in several localities. Poor road restoration after pipeline work drew sharp criticism, with Dhurde ordering immediate repairs of all dug-up stretches before the monsoon.
Political Undertones
The meeting, held at ruling party leader Narendra Borkar's chamber, saw participation only from BJP-ruled zones. No representatives from Congress-led Ashi Nagar and Mangalwari zones were invited, adding a political undertone to what was projected as a city-wide crisis review.
Congress corporator Dinesh Yadav claimed that several areas in his prabhag number 2 are still receiving contaminated water, alleging no efforts by the NMC's water works department to resolve the issues.
Official Presence and Ground Reality
Senior officials, including superintending engineer Shweta Banerjee and executive engineer Shrikant Waikar, along with OCWL representatives, were present. Despite official claims of adequate supply, the ground reality tells a different story — one where citizens are left dependent on tankers and time-bound supply in the peak of summer.
