Water Board plays April 1 joke on consumers

Meghanien Dutta / TNN / Apr 2, 2006, 00:39 IST

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It was a cruel April Fool's Day joke that was played on consumers who went to the Water Board on Saturday to put forward their grievances.

Water Board plays April 1 joke on consumers

HYDERABAD: It was a cruel April Fool's Day joke that was played on consumers who went to the Water Board on Saturday to put forward their grievances.
The occasion was the Lok Adalat of the Water Board at its Khairatabad office. Lok Adalats are organised every first Saturday of the month by the board and it was announced that one such sitting would be held on April 1 too.
But when consumers arrived at the office on Saturday, they were informed that the hearing was put off to April 22.
While the consumers were not given reasons for the postponement, the notice board simply read - "Due to unavoidable reasons".

Around 25 complainants had already formed a queue by 10.30 am, the scheduled time for the session to begin. After waiting restlessly for 45 minutes, they were abruptly informed that the hearing would be held three weeks later.
According to sources, Lok Adalat chairman S Satyanarayana was indisposed and could not attend the proceedings. The board officials did not know about this until an official of the board's legal cell called him to enquire about his arrival.

The official was informed about the chairman's illness and was requested that the hearing be put off to April 22.
"We have just got to know that he is not coming," an officer of the Water Board's legal cell told consumers who had gathered there.
Several annoyed consumers termed it a rude April Fool joke."How can they do this? We have waited so long, now they tell us it is cancelled," said an angry consumer, G Narsa Bai of Khairatabad.
"I had other plans which had to be cancelled. Now with the hearing put off, neither this nor that has worked out," said D Narsing Rao, of Old Santoshnagar colony.
People had come with problems on water supply and billing from places like Dhoolpet, Tarnaka, Sultan Bazar, Malakpet, Qutbullapur mandal and Old City areas like Fateh Darwaza, Humayun Nagar, Shalibanda, Karwan and Aliabad.
"It took me more than an hour to come here from Khajipura. After having waited for so long, it's not fair on their part to cancel the hearing," said Mohamaddi Begum.
There were some who had filed complaints in January and February which were pending and scheduled to be heard on Saturday, who were also miffed with the cancellation of the hearing.

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