‘Paying Rs 1,500 per tanker…very difficult situation’: Despite leak plugged at key treatment plant, water supply disrupted across sectors in Gurgaon

Harish Yadav, Sector 56 RWA president, said the area’s woes were compounded by tankers often not showing up.

Even as the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) on Tuesday night completed repairs to plug the leakage at the Water Treatment Plant (WTP) at Chandu Budhera—a facility that supplies more than half the city’s water requirement— residents across major Gurgaon sectors continue to grapple with water supply issues.

While many residents faced complete water unavailability, others received supplies at low pressure or in less quantity. Faced with this crisis, many residents said that they had to pay high rates for water tankers to go about their daily activities.

The WTP at Chandu Budhera supplies 400 million litres per day (MLD) against Gurgaon’s total demand of around 700 MLD, and is responsible for water supply to the eastern and newer sectors in the city.

A GMDA spokesperson stated on Tuesday evening, “The work undertaken to plug the leakage in the 1600 mm diameter water supply pipeline at WTP Chandu Budhera has been completed. The team has been deployed for the opening of the sluice valve and water supply is expected to be restored within the next one hour, and supply conditions will improve in most connections by Wednesday, at full load”.

The water leak at the WTP plant was detected January 9, a day after the 36-hour planned shutdown of the master water supply from the Chandu Budhera plant was completed. Residents say water supply problems have worsened since the planned shutdown of the Chandu Budhera plant commenced on January 7.

“It is getting very difficult, we are not getting proper water supply for a week. Today, water is trickling in at very low quantities. Most residents are paying Rs 1500 per tanker”, said Roshan Lal Yadav, president of the Sector 57 Residents’ Welfare Association (RWA).

“For the past two days, we have been either getting no water or getting it only once a day. Our sectors are at the tail end of the WTP’s supply line, so the water takes time to come even after the supply is restored. It is an extremely tough situation, the entire society is suffering”, said Vinita Sinha, RWA president of Sushant Lok A & A1 blocks in Sector 43.

On similar lines, Malibu Town in Sector 47, an upscale township spanning approximately 204 acres with nearly 10,000 residents, has been reeling under a severe water crisis for the past three days, according to its RWA.

Echoing their concerns, Malibu Towne’s RWA president Vijay Shiv Nath said, “The tanker people are quoting whatever rates they want, from Rs 1000-Rs 1500, and at least 250-300 tankers are being ordered daily in the township. The same situation continued on Wednesday too.”

Harish Yadav, Sector 56 RWA president, said that the area’s water supply woes were compounded by tankers not showing up on many occasions. “The people responsible to supply water in tankers will say they come in the evening but they won’t … .the situation is quite bad,” he said.