New Delhi, Jun 13: With millions of people facing water crisis for the fourth consecutive day running, the Delhi Jal Board today set up a helpline number for residents to send SMSes in case they do not get water tankers.
The helpline number is 96502-90707. Only SMSes can be sent at this number, and action will be taken, a DJB official said.
DJB has also decided to carry out 5-hour cut in water supply in those areas where round-the-clock water supply is avilable.
There have been numerous complaints from residents about DJB water tankers not reaching their localities, or exorbitant money being demanded for tankers. In some cases, DJB staff have even told people to buy 25 litre mineral water bottles for their use.
A furious Delhi chief minsiter Sheila Dikshit today directed DJB officials to ask all engineers to make rounds in their respective areas to assess the water crisis.
Already, Haryana government has refused to increase the supply of water to Delhi. Delhi has an average demand of 1,100 million gallons per day potable water, but the DJB supplies only around 835 MGD. Now the demand-supply gap has widened to 465 MGD.
An estimated 200 MGD water is lost due to leakages in the distribution network. A DJB official said, the demand has shot up in the last one week due to 40-plus temperature in the capital.
Taps have gone dry in many colonies including Vasant Vihar, Gulmohar Park, Malviya Nagar, Saket, Safdarjang Development Area, Green Park, Hauz Khas and Kailash Colony.
Meanwhile, the private water tanker mafia has been active for the past two weeks selling water at exorbitant rates. A thousand litre medium-sized tanker is being supplied for as mush as Rs 1,200 to water-starved residents.
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