Hyderabad: Residents of Alakaapoor Township at Neknampur, which houses about 15,000 people, staged a protest against their longstanding problem over water supply.
Residents say they are dependent on tankers and groundwater, as neither the Water Board nor the gram panchayat was supplying them water.
Mr A. Pramod, a resident, said, “We have been following up with the Water Board at all levels and the political leadership to provide water connections for our township from 2016. This is the failure of the Water Board officials who are not interested in our problems. Left with no option, we were forced to come out on the roads.”
They said that they had been writing about their problems to the officials but no action was taken.
The residents said they are forced to buy water at high prices. “Each household is paying `6,000 to `7,000 monthly. It’s a huge financial burden,” said another resident.
Asked about the problems of the residents, a Water Board official told this newspaper: “It’s the government that has to sanction water connections. The Alakaapoor Township’s 34-km plan has been forwarded to the government. We have provided temporary customer account number (CAN) and are charging `500 from them but our hands are tied when the funds are not available.”
The protestors are demanding an ad hoc solution by providing 150 water tankers daily.
Many highlighted the non-availability of distribution lines in their township.
