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Journalism of Courage
For nearly two weeks, people living in around 900 flats of C-9 block in Vasant Kunj have been receiving contaminated water supply. Not only that, sewage water, overflowing onto the streets after a sewer pipeline broke down, is entering their homes.
Residents claim these problems have been persisting since September 5 and affecting all 926 flats in the block, which houses nearly 3,500 to 4,000 people.
They maintained that only last week, the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) had laid a new sewer pipeline in the area, resulting in some households receiving clear water, but for others, the situation remained the same. Many are receiving no water or contaminated sewage-mixed supply, while sewage is still entering many households.
Due to the heavy rainfall on Thursday afternoon, the pipeline again began to overflow and sewage entered ground floor residences. Only last week, the residents had alleged that they were suffering from health issues like skin and stomach infections.
According to DJB officials, the main peripheral line at Civil Lines — catering to Vasant Kunj — was damaged when an optical fibre was affected during the recent rainfall. Unprotected repair work by service providers further damaged the pipeline, they added.
Anjali Shukla, a resident, said, “Many elderly residents and children are sick. Around 200 of the 900 residents are not getting water at all… Today, we got our tanks cleaned, but tomorrow again when I wake up, I don’t know how the water will be…?”
“When the sewer line broke at Gate 5… officials came one after another and dug up the area. The lack of planning caused more damage. While the agencies were diligent… officials came quickly and worked day and night… there were lapses in overall coordination,” she added.
Also, Shukla said no report has been shared with the residents on the analysis of the water quality.
Ruchi Bhatia, another resident, said, “As it again rained in the afternoon today, the sewer line immediately started overflowing.” She claimed around 50 families have been affected by this issue alone.
She added, “My mother is still sick… suffering from diarrhoea. For some time, the problem seemed to be resolved, but for the last two days, we have been receiving contaminated water. We also have to wait for an hour in the morning to check what time tubewell water will be available… We have to go to work. How can this continue?”
Mausumi Bhattacharya, C-9 Resident Welfare Association (RWA) president, said the root problem has not been addressed. “Last week, the DJB built a new pipeline… But today, when it rained again, the pipeline started overflowing again. With the help of a jet machine, the residents started flushing it out.”
She added that after digging work carried out by the DJB last week to lay the pipeline, a part of the road had caved in.
Maintaining that the water supply was safe for drinking, an official from DJB said, “A 17-ft-deep sewer pipeline had sunk slightly due to shifting of soil, reducing water flow and leading to an overflow… Diversion work was carried out, and field tests conducted last week confirmed the supply was safe for drinking.”
However, DJB officials did not respond when asked when these issues would be permanently resolved.
