Residents complain of muddy water

THANE: Around 1,500 residents of a residential complex in Kalher village in Bhiwandi have been receiving muddy water for several years despite making repeated complaints to the gram panchayat.

The local body, on the other hand, says that it has been doing the best that it can, given the constraints that it is facing.

“Every monsoon, the water that we receive from the gram panchayat is muddy. We have submitted several letters to the gram panchayat regarding this but there has been no action whatsoever. If they are unable to meet a need as simple and basic as clean drinking water, what right do they have to bill us for water?” Sulakshana Nahata, a 32-year-old resident of the complex, said.

The complex has eight buildings with 64 flats each. In light of the pandemic, the residents are worried about using the water as those with low immunity are at a higher risk of being infected.

Despite repeated verbal complaints, there was no change in the situation. The residents started submitting written complaints. Since last year, the residents’ association has written at least five letters to the gram panchayat, raising the issues related to the water supply.

According to the residents, apart from the muddy and unusable water, the second issue is that of insufficient water supply. The society has a 20,000-litre water tank. Water is supplied for less than an hour to the society and the tank is more than half empty every day.

Swapnil Pashilkar, 35, who has been staying in the complex since 2015, said, “Ever since we came to live here, the water supply has always been limited. We have complained in writing multiple times but have only received promises in return. There are some areas in the Kalher Kasheli belt that receive more water supply than the others. On the other hand, the supply we get is hardly enough to meet our drinking water needs.”

Kalher Gram Panchayat member and former sarpanch, Sanjay Patil, said that the water supply that Kalher gets comes from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), and that the Kalher Gram Panchayat is not equipped to arrange for independent water supply.

“We get unfiltered water from the BMC and do not have funds to set up a filtration mechanism. Even then, the water is clean in summer and winter, and this issue only arises in the rainy season. Besides, we provide water purifying agents to all residents at a cost of ₹4-5 lakh every year and issue advisories asking them to boil the water before drinking it,” Patil said.

He added that the Kalher village has a population of nearly 1.5 lakh people, and a lot of godowns in its jurisdiction, due to which the water supply is insufficient.

We get unfiltered water from BMC and don’t have funds for filtration mechanism.

SANJAY PATIL,

Residents of Kalher village, Bhiwandi, with muddy water that they receive.