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Showing posts with the label Delhi Jal Board

Water woes mount, no solution in sight

NEW DELHI: The water department has been under the chief minister's direct control for the past 15 years. As chairperson of Delhi Jal Board, Sheila Dikshit has been responsible for not only the water supply in the city but also the Yamuna, failure to clean which has become a major embarrassment for the government. At present, Delhi produces around 835 million gallons per day (MGD) of water—at least 300MGD short of the actual demand. The CM's biggest challenge in her current term, and maybe the state's biggest failure, has been to get Haryana to release 80MGD from the Munak canal. While the Congress government in Haryana remains adamant, three completed treatment plants in Delhi await water while many thousands of Delhiites get no water or barely once a day. The government's most controversial step has been to introduce public-private partnership in water distribution. Delhi's supply is marked by leaking pipelines and massive wastage, and the government was keen to

RO water for Delhi slums, resettlement colonies

NEW DELHI: About 8,000-odd residents of SavdaGhevda's slums and resettlement colonies will soon have access to subsidized reverse osmosis (RO) treated water. Delhi Jal Board is setting up a pilot project under which it will provide RO water to the residents for Rs 3-6 per 20 litres. "This area is currently fed through tubewells and tankers. We are often unable to meet the full demand through tankers and would like to replace the system. Under the new project, we will dig one tubewell and treat it through RO. We will then set up kiosks, like those installed at milk booths, to dispense water. If someone purchases water from the plant itself, it will cost them Rs 3 per 20 litres. If it is bought from any other kiosk, it will cost Rs 6 per 20 litres. This will cover the cost of transporting the water from the plant to the kiosks," said a senior DJB official. According to sources, the pilot project will cover about 8,000 people and eventually cover a population of about 25,0

Water woes continue in south Delhi

NEW DELHI: Despite Uttar Pradesh releasing water for Delhi after the Ganga canal closure, some parts of south Delhi continue to face water shortage. A two-hour long power cut at the Cantt booster pumping station on Thursday disrupted the water supply again for the next two days in the Vasant Vihar command area and part of the Ring Road. Delhi Jal Board is facing a massive increase in demand with Delhi being ravaged by a heat wave since last week. "DJB has touched a record-high production and is treating 834-835 million gallons water per day. Since demand is so high, we have been trying to rationalize water so that everyone gets some supply at least," said a senior official. The supply would resume normally after a day or so, said an official. 0 However, the residents in Saket and nearby Vasant Vihar are complaining that water is yet to reach their homes. At Saket's D block, water supply was disrupted around May 17 - the day the Ganga canal was shut. "Before that, w

DJB takes steps to stem water crisis

NEW DELHI: In the absence of additional water from the Munak canal, Delhi Jal Board has put in place several measures to ensure that water distribution is not affected this summer when demand is expected to rise. The water utility will try and ensure an average production of 835 million gallons per day of water during the summer months. The water will be supplied to various areas through a network of 87 underground reservoirs. Officials said that about 200 km of old pipelines have been replaced while 333 major leak points were repaired in the last year. "Preventive maintenance works like flushing of water mains, cleaning of underground reservoirs and servicing of equipments at the pump houses has been carried out to ensure uninterrupted functioning of water installations during summer. Additional tube wells have been installed or re-bored where it was technically possible. We have also acquired 400 new water tankers with stainless steel containers. These tankers are fitted with