'Cut potable water supply to those wasting water'

LUDHIANA: Ludhiana Municipal Corporation has decided to go tough to solve the shortage of drinking water in the city albeit partially.
The MC staff has been directed to comb the entire city within the municipal limits and penalise the consumers responsible for wastage of water. The MC are of the view that the problem became acute due non-judicious and use of water for other than drinking purpose.There are other factors like usual power cuts, frequent breakdown of tubewells apart from increased demand due to ongoing heat wave.
The MC authorities have suggested the local Punjab State Electricity Board (PSEB) officials to avoid power cuts during different phases of daily water supply. Though chief engineer PSEB Ludhiana AS Khangura did not sound hopeful of such solution, so the residents will have to bear the problen till Monsoon ease the situation. Since this does not seem to be a workable idea, hence MC authorities decided to take harsh measures to improve the situation.
"The wastage is due to consumers'' access to unlimited quantities of water at the cost of Rs 50 per month. They should self-impose water rationing to ensure judicious use," said MC commissioner SK Sharma.
Maintaining that adequate water supply is dependent on power situation, Sharma hopes for dramatic improvement if uninterrupted power supply is ensured. But again that is not in hands of Ludhiana PSEB office as schedule of cuts is decided at the level of power controller at Patiala, conceded Khangura.
The breakdown of MC tubewells is another important contributing factor. The MC officials however downplayed this. Sharma maintained that failure of 2-3 tubewells would not make any difference to general quantum of daily supply. But certainly it causes fall in pressure which renders first floor occupants of houses.
The MC has divided 360 tubewells into grids, each consisting of 25 tubewells. The problem is more telling in wh at are usually described as undeclared areas. As many as four tubewells await repairs since Wednesday at Jassian Road, Mushtaqganj and Model House areas.
The MC water tankers were pressed into service in these areas. About six connections are yet to be cleared by the PSEB while five are pending. This will take another another week even if done on priority basis, said Khangura. The concerned residents will have to suffer water blues till then.