The Hindu : HMWSSB helpless as illegal drawal of water continues

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Feb 25, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Andhra Pradesh-Hyderabad

HMWSSB helpless as illegal drawal of water continues

By K.V.S. Madhav

HYDERABAD Feb. 24. The Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board is at its wits end unable to check people from indulging in illegal drawal of water using electric motors.

Interestingly, the Board which unearthed 250 such cases in the last one week, could do little as it had no powers to confiscate the motors. All it could do was impose a nominal fine of Rs. 1,000 or so.

This kind of drawal of water has become rampant in the twin cities with little concern for those in the neighbourhood. The modus operandi is to fix cheap electric motors directly to the water taps to draw water in excess even as there are reduced or little inflows into the neighbours taps.

Such is the brazenness that violators lock up their house entrances wary of preying neighbours and Board officials and get down to the act!

The practice cuts across all areas and sections of society leading to severe shortage in supplies to hundreds of households already facing a steep cut in the supplies. Ironically, it is the powerful, the affluent and the educated classes that resort to such acts more.

The Board is maintaining alternate day supplies to the twin cities. There are about 3.25 lakh water connections within the city and the surrounding municipalities with 80 to 90 per cent of them being individual connections.

The cut in the supplies imposed by the Board owing to severe shortage of inflows to the four drinking water reservoirs is to the extent of 25 per cent and is expected to be increased by another 10 per cent by next month.

With reduced supplies, there is reduced pressure too, particularly to those at the tail-end of the Board's supplies. The illegal drawal of water only worsens matters.

The Board officials already facing the flak from people for the severe shortage in water supplies are in a piquant situation. "Illegal drawal of water is banned. There are no two ways about it. But, we are only authorised to levy a fine. Seizure of motors is not permissible,'' officials air their helplessness.

``Unless the material is seized, we cannot put an end to the menace. It is back to square one the moment we warn and penalise the households,'' they explain. Keeping a vigil is "literally impossible'' given the huge number of water connections.

The Board's Transmission Division entrusted with the job of identifying such violators has its usual problem - shortage of staff. Households that are at the receiving end of their neighbour's manipulations also contribute to the continuation of the menace as they seldom complain either out of fear or why-buy- a-problem attitude.

The distribution losses suffered by the Board by way of such pilferage and leakages have been put at a staggering 33 per cent of the supplies. At a time when even a single drop of water counts, the distribution losses could be a veritable ocean of supplies.

Who will bell the cat?

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Southern States

Stories in this Section

HMWSSB helpless as illegal drawal of water continues

Major facelift for Clock Tower in Secunderabad

Charminar Bank depositors may be paid back soon