Water for drinking, not construction, say tanker owners

In our letter to Sanjay Bhatia, Cidco’s managing director, we have explained the water supplied to the construction sites is the quarry water and not Cidco water. If the water tankers are banned, we will lose our livelihood ATAMARAM PATIL, tanker owner who is leading the agitation

PANVEL: As residents reel under an acute water shortage, local politicians have alleged that tankers have been supplying water meant for residential use to construction sites.

However, tanker owners have denied the allegation and said the water was for drinking and not for construction.

With frequent water cuts, residents of City and Industrial Development Corporation (Cidco) colonies in Panvel, are heavily dependent on water tankers for their daily needs. Following allegations, the local politicians had demanded a ban on the tankers.

The tanker owners, who are project-affected people (PAP), have decided to unite under the leadership of Atmaram Patil and agitate against the demand to ban water tankers.

“We will not tolerate such allegations against us,” said tanker owner Suresh Bhagat.

The tanker owners of Kalamboli and nearby areas have decided to form a front.

“The tankers do not supply water to the construction sites. Each water tanker costs Rs1,500 which is not feasible for construction sites. We will meet Cidco’s managing director Sanjay Bhatia to discuss the issue,” said Patil.

“In our letter to Bhatia, we have explained the water supplied to the construction sites is the quarry water and not Cidco water,” said Patil. “If the water tankers are banned, we will lose our livelihood.”

The water supplied to residents is purchased by Cidco from Kalamboli and New Panvel areas from Maharashtra Jeevan Pradhikaran (MJP).

Since the MJP pipelines are old and dilapidated, there is regular shutdown. Hence, adequate water is not supplied to both the nodes often. The situation is compounded by the fact that MJP has cut down on the water supply recently.

Kalamboli has been getting only 22-24 million litres a day, much less than its requirement which is almost double. New Panvel too is facing similar issues. Since water is released in all the Sectors at the same time, the pressure is very low. Hence, the upper floors of the buildings often did not get any water, said residents.

Moreover, since Kalamboli is located in a low-lying area and Roadpali is situated at a height, there is greater water pressure in Kalamboli than in Roadpali.