Noida: When RC Gupta turned on the taps at his home on Monday, there was no supply. It only resumed after 8pm. On Tuesday morning, the pressure was very low and water only trickled from the taps on the higher floors. Earlier on Sunday, there was a power failure in the sector and he was not able to pump water up into his overhead tank. Now, his home and the sector are reeling under an acute water crisis.
Water Crisis Worsens Amid Heatwave
With temperature hovering above 40 degrees Celsius, residents across several sectors in the city have been battling low water pressure and supply over the past two or three days. Pipe bursts, a dip in the groundwater table due to dewatering activities at construction sites, increased demand and recurring failures in pumping water from overhead reservoirs have only added to the problem. Residents from sectors 44, 71, 105, 117 and 122 said that stored-up water in these tanks has been drying up as well.
Residents Share Their Ordeal
“The water supply had stopped on Monday evening due to a supply pipeline burst in BHEL colony. Supply resumed at 8pm but the pressure has been very low,” said RC Gupta. “Last week, there was another pipeline burst and we had to suffer. Noida Authority is not maintaining the infrastructure at all. Ours is one of the older sectors and whenever there is a problem, they just make a quick fix. We are suffering from water crisis and unlike the last time when the Authority’s tankers came to our rescue, no such arrangement is being made.”
RWA general secretary of the PK block in Sector 122 Bhushan Sharma said, “The water pressure has been very low and since there is no fixed schedule, we can’t even store water in multiple buckets. Sometimes the water comes at 6pm, while on other days it comes at 7pm or later.”
In Sector 117, RWA president Kosinder Yadav said people living on the higher floors are suffering the most. “We need to use a separate pump now to route water up to the flats. This has increased our water expenditure and our electricity bills are also going through the roof,” said Yadav.
Sector 71 Tank Faces Frequent Short Supply
Residents in Sector 105 fear that water is being stolen from the nearby community tank. “There is no security guard at the water tank complex, no CCTV monitoring and inadequate lighting at night, creating an open invitation for anti-social elements to pump water out using illegal means,” said the RWA president, Deepak Sharma.
Sharma emphasised the abysmal state of cleanliness around the underground water tank, where garbage has accumulated and goes unchecked. “The presence of filth poses health risks, including the potential spread of diseases and a possibility of water contamination,” he added.
The collective voices of these RWAs underscore an urgent need for intervention from the Authority officials who are currently engaged in Census work.
