Ambitious plan fails to clean hard water

NOIDA: Even though the first phase of Ganga Jal Pariyojana, aimed at providing good quality potable water, is already in place, residents are still complaining of getting hard water in their homes. On the other hand, there is also a shortage and water is only supplied for two hours twice daily.
For most part of the year, we get pale-looking hard water making it difficult to use,a? said S P Chauhan, a resident of sector 82.asIt is difficult for us to wash clothes and utensils with this water. It is also unfit for drinking and we cannot do without a water purifier,a? added Chauhan.
Residents complain that water supplied only for two hours daily does not suffice to the needs of an average family. asWe are supplied water for a couple of hours each in the mornings and evenings. We have to maintain our own reservoirs to deal with emergency needs,a? said N P Singh, a resident of sector 35.
The elaborate Ganga Jal Pariyojana put in place by the Noida Authority makes a provision for mixing water from the Ganges with groundwater to remove hardness before releasing it in the cityas pipelines. However, residents have complained of laxity on part of the Noida Authority to ensure that mixing is done properly. asThere are problems in collection and storage of rainwater. Moreover, the Authority does not ensure that the mixing is done properly. A lot of Ganga water is wasted after being brought into the city,a? said Anil Misra, a resident of sector 46.
Water is brought to Noida via Masoori-Dasna in Ghaziabad through the Ganga canal. It is then treated at Pratap Vihar in Ghaziabad before it reaches the city. However, this year the annual desilting of the canal has not been done. asDesilting is done by the irrigation department of the state government every year between Dussehra and Diwali. The canal has not been desilted this year,a? said an official of the Noida Jal Board.
However, the irrigation department maintains that deposition of silt in the canal bears no effect at all on the quality of water. asDesilting is done on a need basis and has nothing to do with the quality of water supplied. It is for the Noida Authority to check for water quality,a? said a senior official of the irrigation department in Lucknow.