Hyderabad: City dwellers raise a stink over contaminated water

Hyderabad: Amidst the rising temperatures, several parts of the city have been grappling with acute drinking water scarcity. Most of the residents in the eastern and northern parts of the city, especially slums and city outskirts, have said that there are no drinking water pipelines and residents are dependent on water tankers.

The denizens said the drinking water is now a major concern as the quality of it is very bad. They were complaining about contaminated drinking water getting mixed with sewerage and algae. Residents said for at least an hour, they were forced to drain water before storing it.

Despite repeated requests, the authorities are allegedly not waking up to reality quickly enough. In the eastern and northern parts of the city, there is a lack of drinking water pipelines. Several localities in Malkajgiri, East Marredpally, Jeedimetla, Amber Nagar, Old Dairy Farm, Osmania University, and surrounding municipalities, including Nizampet, among others. The residents in these areas are still dependent on water tankers. Tuprani Chandrashekhar, a resident of Malkajgiri, said, "With lack of pipelines, we are forced to purchase drinking water. And hundreds of families are still dependent here on water tankers who are forced to pay Rs 500," he added.

Raising similar concerns, a resident of Pragathi Nagar in Nizampet, Sharvan Kumar, said for years, they have complained of water shortage. Water is being provided only once in three days which is inadequate. As summer is approaching, we are concerned about water scarcity in the coming days," he added. Meanwhile, people who are residing in areas close to Outer Ring Road (ORR) have also been complaining about the lack of drinking water supply.

Moreover, in other parts of the city, especially central and south zones, the drinking water is supplied by HMWSSB on every alternate day for three hours out of which around two hours, are devoted to contaminated water which serves no purpose and can only be drained by the residents and only one hour of clean water is being supplied which remains inadequate.

Mohammed Abdul Rahman, an activist, said in most of the areas, including Yakutpura, Rein Bazar, Purani Haveli, and Madannapet, contaminated water is a recurring phenomenon. "In this circle, there is no high ranked officer for more than a year and all complaints regarding the water remain unnoticed. And residents are the ones who suffer, and this summer may be hectic for the residents of these areas," he added.

According to the residents, receiving contaminated water is nothing new for them. They alleged that the concerned officials failed to solve it permanently. Officials are allegedly paying no attention to key issues faced by denizens.

Denizens were complaining about contaminated drinking water mixed with algae being supplied by the HMWSSB. Most of the complaints are being received from densely populated areas of Charminar and Bahadurpura constituencies, including Hussaini Alam, Kalapatther, Pathergatti, Tadban, Mustafa Nagar, Koka ki Tatti, and Fateh Darwaza. The residents are complaining that HMWSSB is supplying contaminated water through taps that are not potable for any purpose," said Mohammed Ahmed, another activist.

Meanwhile, the residents of Bowenpally and surrounding areas complain of bad smell and dirt in drinking water. "This has been the case for several years now," said Jignesh. Despite the officials inspecting the place more than 20 days ago, the issue was yet to be resolved. This had been going on for around two months now," he complained.