17 villages in Sinnar face water issues due to unpaid power dues

Nashik: More than 6,000 residents of 17 villages covered under the 22-village regional water supply scheme in Nashik's Sinnar taluka have been facing water supply issues as the power supply to the scheme has been snapped due to unpaid dues.Vilas Sangle, a gramsevak and secretary of the 22-village water supply scheme, whose beneficiaries currently are the residents of 17 villages, said, "The dues amount to Rs 36 lakh. Efforts are being made to collect the money and settle the dues of the power supply company. This will take some time."Sangle added, "The scheme has been shut for the past five months, and the beneficiary villages are dependent upon their individual water resources. Generally, by Feb, when local sources dry up, the villages turn to the water scheme for the supply of drinking water. The Bhojapur dam is the source of the water for the scheme."He said two issues have plagued the scheme: outstanding dues and damage to the water supply pipelines."Since the regional water supply scheme was executed by the Maharashtra Jeevan Pradhikaran and handed over to the committee of the beneficiary villages, it is the duty of the latter to collect the dues and settle them to ensure a continuous water supply. We are now holding a meeting of the villagers and seeking intervention from the zilla parishad too," he said.The construction of a new road is underway at Dapur, where the water filtration plant has been set up. The road work has damaged the water supply pipelines."We met Nashik MP Rajabhau Waje and sought his help in the matter. He has asked the contractors to settle the pipeline problem immediately, and has even asked the ZP officials to hold a meeting to resolve the issue," Sangle said.The power is supplied through a high-tension connection with a fixed minimum charge of Rs 54,000 per month, and when in use, the monthly energy bill runs up to Rs 5 lakh. The costs are high for local residents to bear."Since the scheme has been constructed, the govt does not allow water supply tankers to such villages. Therefore, ZP intervention is being sought," said Ravindra Shinde, president of the scheme and sarpanch of Musalgaon.