Residents protest against erratic water supply

Team Udayavani, May 22, 2018, 5:30 PM IST

Dharwad: Led by former mayor and BJP leader Shivu Hiremath, the residents of Dharwad protested in front of the Karnataka Urban Water Supply and Drainage Board (KUWS&DB) office here on Monday. They complained about the irregular water supply during summer and demanded that the authorities visit areas that were facing acute water shortage in order to take steps to provide even distribution of water.

Shivu said that a majority of areas of the city came under the 24×7 drinking water supply scheme, but were not receiving sufficient water due to the negligence of officials. He also demanded that the expensive water cess charged by the water board be reduced. He complained that in areas like Channabasaveshwar Nagar, Ulavi Channabasaveshvar Nagar and its neighbouring areas had been facing severe water shortage and though the matter was reported to the officials, there was no response or action from their side.

The residents said that the areas came under the continuous water supply scheme but officials supplied water according to their interests. They complained that they were forced to stand in front of taps for long hours, ignoring all other works. It also added to their financial worries because they had to pay exorbitant sums to private water tankers and also, the new meters fixed to get water cess were faulty and was allegedly collecting more tax.

Later, KUWS&DB chief engineer K. Raghavendra pacified the protestors by telling them that the disruption in water supply was due to technical glitches and promised that there would be uninterrupted water supply from then on. He also promised to conduct a meeting with assistant executive engineers to sort out all of the reported issues.