Hyderabad: Water woes in village alongside Outer Ring Road are expected to continue this summer. The Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWS&SB) has managed to ground about 50 reservoirs of the total 183.
It has been supplying Krishna water through the existing drinking water network which earlier supplied bore-well water.
Interestingly, the Board can supply some 7 million gallons daily using the existing pipeline but has not completed construction of a reservoir in the area. Sources claim water woes in ORR would not get resolved until the board complets laying of new pipeline network and construction of new reservoirs.
Besides, the Board target to provide drinking water to 57 ORR villages was likely to be missed due to technical and departmental issues. The government is spending '628 crore on the project.
With a one-year target, the board aims to provide door-to-door tap connections to every household in the mandals, including Saroor-nagar, Maheshwaram, Raj-endranagar, Shamshabad, Hayathnagar, Ibrahimpa-tnam, Ghatkesar, Keesara, Shameerpet, Medchal, Qutbullapur, Patancheru and Ramchandrapuram, with 180 reservoirs constructed to store 44.7 million litres.
Though the tender for the project was approved last June and the agreement was signed on July 9, the Board managed to ground work just three months ago.
As a result, ORR residents have been receiving some 7 millions gallons of water a day or even less. Sources said the water supplied through existing pipelines would not quench the thirst of residents.
A senior Board official on condition of anonymity said it had already conducted successful trial runs in many villages including Mammarajguda, Mariy-apuram, Wadiguda, Sunrise Colony, Hakimpet, Singaipally, Antaipally, Upperpally, Indira Nagar WHSC, Rajiv Gandhi Nagar, Bachupally and Pocharam during the first week of March.
Of the 57 villages, the board had been supplying drinking water to 22 villages and would soon ensure that others too got it. About the March 31 deadline, he said works would be delayed by at least two weeks to one month as there were some critical gaps like railway crossings, R&B road and NH road crossings. Approach roads to the Shamshabad Airport had to be crossed by tunnelling and approval process was under way.
About enhancing supply, he said it had been supplying some 7 MGD and capacity could be enhanced only after completing reservoir construction and laying new network. The board had plans to provide 75,000 new tap connections by April end and the whole project could be completed by October.
Pressure, quantity of supply drops in city
The pressure of water supply is low to residents across the city which results in quantity fall. They claim that Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board has been supplying water on a regular basis, but the pressure has dropped compared to previous months.
Though the Board claims it had enhanced the capacity by 100 million gallons a day (MGD), water woes still continue.
Tarnaka resident Suresh Lahoti said, “The water supply was good until past two weeks and has worsened over the week. Though the supply remains regular on every alternate day, the pressure is low and as a result the quantity hasdropped. Our 25,000 kilolitre tank has been not filled due to low pressure,” he said.
B. Damodhar of Baghlingampally said the water woes during summer are common in the area. “Though the situation had improved compared to last year, the quantity of supply has been reduced by a great extent. We urge Water Board to provide quality drinking water and check if there are leaks in the pipelines,” he said.
Officials said that during summer there was reverse water pumping into pipelines due to extreme heat.
He added that the pipeline leak is another matter of concern and the board has taken up the repairs which would be completed by April.
