Navi Mumbai: 48-hour CIDCO water cut stretches on, crisis deepens in nodes

A supposed 48hour water cut announced by CIDCO earlier this week for emergency repair work has extended well beyond its schedule leaving the nodes of Ulwe Dronagiri Kharghar and Taloja battling an acute water crisisThe situation has triggered panic and frustration among residents who are accusing CIDCO of negligence and alleging a nexus with the tanker mafiaAccording to CIDCOrsquos official circular the water supply was to be disrupted from Wednesday 9 July at 6 am to Thursday July 10 due to emergency repairs on the Hetwane pipeline near the Kharpada bridge Water was expected to resume by Friday morning but in reality several sectors in Ulwe including Sector 17 reported dry taps until Saturday evening with unofficial word suggesting water may only be restored by 7ndash8 pm on July 12The result a massive dependence on private water tankers leading to chaos in residential societies and spiralling daily costs for already stretched housing complexesldquoFor the past several weeks we have been arranging water tankers almost daily Itrsquos becoming financially and logistically exhausting for our society Every time there is maintenance at the dam or a pipe bursts our water supply is disrupted and there is no proper backup system in placerdquo said Sanjoy Varghese a resident of Hari Heights in Ulwersquos Sector 9A similar situation is unfolding in Dronagiri and Taloja where residents say CIDCO has failed to plan or upgrade the water grid despite being fully aware of the regionrsquos population explosionldquoThere is no longterm vision People are fighting for basic human needs Tankers are filling the vacuum left by CIDCO and we donrsquot even know if the water quality is saferdquo Varghese addedResidents and activists are now openly questioning CIDCOrsquos transparency and accountabilityldquoCIDCO is not at all bothered about the prolonged acute water issue which is the first and foremost requirement for human daily life At the same time how is it that the tanker mafia gets water and supplies to societies It clearly means CIDCO is involved somewhere and helping the tanker mafia in looting public money There is no provision from CIDCOrsquos side and no initiative from PMC for such a big issuerdquo alleged Rajesh K Shreevastava social worker President of Sewa Foundation and a resident of Bhagyashree Cooperative Housing Society in KhargharSeveral societies report paying between Rs 2000 to Rs 5000 daily for water tankers a financial burden with no support or reimbursement from authorities Residents now question how tankers continue to source water when official pipelines are dryAdding to the civic dismay Leena Garad local politician and social activist pointed out a systemic failure in planningGarad said ldquoAround 30 to 40 years ago CIDCO had already planned and was aware of how many houses would be constructed in this area However due to political apathy in this region despite the presence of planned dam projects and abundant water resources a proper water supply system was never developed This is a matter of great misfortune for the citizens hererdquoGarad added ldquoAt least from now on the local MLAs of Uran and Panvel should exert pressure on officials and the administration and work diligently to ensure that projects are completed within the stipulated timerdquoMLA promises to raise issue in AssemblySpeaking to midday Prashant Thakur BJP MLA from Panvel acknowledged the gravity of the issue and said ldquoThe water crisis in Kharghar Ulwe Dronagiri and Taloja is severe CIDCO had announced a 48hour cut due to repair work at Hetwane Dam but the outage has gone well beyond that CIDCO should have made proper alternative arrangements With the population increasing rapidly due to development in these nodes I will demand that CIDCO stop issuing new commencement certificates if they cannot ensure basic facilities like water I will raise this issue in the ongoing assembly session and push for a resolution on priorityrdquoWith climate change rising population and unchecked urban expansion Navi Mumbairsquos water woes are no longer exceptional mdash they are becoming the norm Despite this rainwater harvesting remains poorly enforced tanker operations go unregulated and crisis communication is lackingUnless CIDCO and other civic authorities roll out a master plan for decentralised water management Navi Mumbairsquos reputation as a ldquoplanned cityrdquo may soon become its cruelest irony mdash one dry tap at a timeEven after several calls and messages CIDCO officials were unavailable for comment