Water cut throws Aurangabad’s supply system out of gear

AURANGABAD: The Aurangabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) on Saturday managed to complete the repair work of main pipeline well before the scheduled time, still the authorities could not offer respite to hundreds of Cidco-Hudco residents till late evening.
The civic body had availed seven hours shut down on water supply line between 12.00 noon and 7.00 pm to replace a faulty air valve at Kawadgaon village in Paithan — about 40 km away from the city.However, the authorities accomplished the task by 5.00 pm and started the procedure of restoring the line.
“As the civic body draws water from the Jayakwadi Lake located at a distance of about 45 km, it takes 4-5 hours for the water to cover the distance. Thus, we are expecting the water to reach the city end between 10 and 11 pm,” said AMC sectional engineer KP Dhande.
Meanwhile, residents in Cidco-Hudco and other parts of the city faced water scarcity throughout the day. The residents — who were supposed to get tap water on Saturday after a gap of three days — were quite upset after they could not get water till late night.
“The residents were waiting for water the whole day but did not get it. Many residents were not aware of the shutdown and thus, they were the worst-affected. The municipal authorities did not inform the residents and that aggravated the scarcity,” said corporator Nitin Chitte.
Residents of Roshan Gage, Karim Colony, Mujeeb Colony, Katkat Gate, Triveni Nagar and Shahbazar also faced scarcity while in some others localities residents complained about low pressure in the tap water. “The civic body is not supplying enough water in the locality and we have no other option but to buy water supplied by tankers. It has become a routine practice these days,” said one of the city residents.
Sajjad Ali, another resident, said several families in Roshan Gate area bought water from private suppliers. “It seems there is no end to water woes of the residents in old city. People are facing water scarcity for the past many days for one or the other reason,” he said.