Kanpur to invoke section 144 to prevent water wastage
In an unprecedented move, the Kanpur district administration has decided to invoke section 144 of the Cr PC to prevent wastage of water. The section, which is normally applied to maintain law and order, will come into force in the first week of May and continue till July 1.
Under the plan, the Jal Kal teams will move with magistrates in all the six municipal zones of the city, two to three days a week. People seen wasting or misusing water will be penalized on the spot and, if needed, they could be arrested.
Before invoking the law, the Kanpur Jal Kal will conduct a survey in the zones to list the establishments using ground water for commercial use, such as washing vehicles and selling it. The Jal Kal teams have been asked submit the survey reports by the end of the month.
District magistrate Kaushal Raj Sharma said the plan is aimed to check water misuse. “Water crisis has the potential to disturb law and order. People demonstrate on this issue and often get violent. This is why we have decided to check water misuse through this section for public good,” he said.
In the last one week the city has seen an upsurge in protests for water in the northern and southern parts of the city. The people, in their bid to draw attention towards the water crisis, carry empty buckets and pitchers during their protests. “Water wastage and water conservation are two areas where we are focusing in peak summers. I will urge people not to get their vehicles washed either at their place or service station but manage with just wiping the vehicle,” said Sharma.
According to a Kanpur Municipal Corporation (KMC) study, service centres waste three MLD of water, while 30 MLD of water, drawn from ground water sources, is sold to people.
The administration’s tough talking stems from the crisis the city is reeling under for last one month. The demand in Kanpur is 540 MLD and Jal Kal, at best, is managing 430 MLD, which till last week was just 340 MLD.To add to the woes, of the 11,500 hand pumps, 4,439 are lying idle and another 1,000 are not operational.