Hyderabad: While 1,00,000 city consumers are deprived of regular water supply, about 170 million gallons a day (MGD) of water supplied by the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWS&SB) is getting leaked or lost.
The Board has been supplying 448 MGD of treated water for about 9.2 lakh consumers here. It spends Rs 46 per kilo litre to purify and supply the water from Krishna and Godavari water sources. Five years have passed but the HMWS&SB has not come up with an action plan even though officials were well aware of the extent of water lost or that had remained unaccounted for.
Highly placed sources in the HMWS&SB said that as many as 1 lakh consumers residing in Rajendranagar, Serilingampally and Kukatpally have been facing acute water crisis due deficiency of 5 MGD from the Singur/Manjira water sources. Even though the board claimed that it has compensated 45 MGD through Krishna, Godavari and the twin reservoirs (Osmansagar and Himayatsagar), people of several areas in Manjira/Singur basin have been facing the water crisis due to irregular supply.
Areas including Manikonda, Patancheru and Pappulguda have been receiving irregular water supply.
Sources said if the Water Board manages to curb the 40 per cent leakage, the 9.2 lakh consumers in the city would get 24/7 uninterrupted water supply and even the domestic needs of 1,400 slums and about 190 villages along Outer Ring Road can be met.
Out of the total 448MGD supplied to the city, only 278 MGD has been reaching the city residents and 170 MGD wasted through water theft, leakages and corruption by the field level staff.
A senior Water Board official said that in order to curb leakages, the board requires at least `600 crore. The board has to have a scientific approach. The need is to fix sophisticated ultrasonic meters for 9.02 lakh consumers, so that the sources of leakage can be identified and curbed. The board requires another `300 crore for repair or replacement of the damaged pipelines.
The official said that even though these proposals were discussed by the higher authorities, no financial institution is coming forward for do the funding. Such a step would also benefit the consumers residing apartments; they too could be brought into the free drinking water scheme.
The water leakages can be brought down only to 25 per cent, as is the case with any city, and not fully stopped. Asked about water theft, the official said the HMWS&SB has been taking legal action against the violators and raids would continue.
