Thaindian News

Agra, March 22 (IANS) The city of the Taj that fought floods and faced an overflowing Yamuna river only a few months back, woke up to another morning of dry taps Tuesday.

On the World Water Day Tuesday, residents of Agra were seen scurrying around, buckets in hand, to the nearest hand pumps and water tankers of the civic agency.

“For the past one month, the water supply by Agra Water Works has been erratic and inadequate. We had a flood only a few months back and the river was overflowing. Where has all this water gone? The summer is yet to start,” said an angry Vijay Nagar colony resident Sudhir Gupta.

Jal Sansthan (Water Works) officials said the Yamuna water was both poor in quality and inadequate in quantity.

“Pollutants from upstream drains have increased and are clogging the filters. The consumption of chlorine and other chemicals has gone up,” an official told IANS.

With water table falling by more than a metre every year, the crisis is now taking a turn for the worse, said Ravi Singh, a farmer at Barauli Ahir block.

“The manner in which water is being pumped out 24 hours a day in the whole belt, underground reserves are depleted,” he said.

Social activist Shravan Kumar Singh said: “Desert coolers and flush toilets are consuming a lot of water, putting additional pressure on the city’s water supply. The construction projects in the city too draw a lot of water from the supply lines, as underground water is brakish, not suited for construction.”

He said it was shocking that Agra district does not have a scientific water management plan even though there are tributaries of the Yamuna - Tons, Chambal, Ken, Khari, Karbana, Parvati, and Son.

“In the posh colonies like Kamla Nagar or Jaipur House, there is hardly a house without a submersible pump or a jet pump. Nobody seems to be dependent on the municipal water. But the question is where is all the water supplied by the Agra Water Works?” asked Vishal, a resident of Pratabpura area.

More than a thousand crore rupees have been invested in the past two decades to upgrade and streamline water and sewage lines, but the results are yet to show, says activist Hari Dutt Sharma.

The only hope for the thirsty city is the Japanese government funded pipeline project to bring water from the Ganga river directly to Sikandra Water Works. An additional 140 MLD (million litres per day) supply of water by the end of next year will provide some relief, says the mayor Anjula Singh Mahaur, who heads the Agra Water Works.

“We are surviving on home delivery of water bottles and jars. The city has hundreds of RO plants which cater to the drinking water needs in the colonies, as nobody who can afford wants to drink municipal water which is pale yellow and stinks,” said Hari Mohan Shrotriya, a priest at Yamuna Kinara road.