GVMC rejects claim by women of water crisis

Visakhapatnam: Women residents of Ambedkar Colony in Chinnamushidiwada on Monday staged a protest with empty pots in front of the GVMC zonal office to highlight the severe drinking water shortage in the area.

Led by members of the Progressive Organisation of Women, the local women took part in the protest. According to them, they have been facing acute water shortage for the past one month.

With summer looming, they said that they are very tense due to the situation and have complained to the civic body. However, there was no response from the GVMC officials concerned.

The POW members demanded immediate action to solve the water shortage in the neighbourhood.

Meanwhile, the municipal staff claimed that there has been no shortage in the area as they are providing water every day for 30 to 40 minutes to all houses.

GVMC assistant engineer P. Kedarnath informed that they were supplying water from bore wells. He said, “We have four tanks, each with a capacity of 5,000-litres. They are filled twice a day to ensure regular water supply. As one tank was recently damaged, we kept an indent for two more tanks and the GVMC has sanctioned the same.”

The local officials have also proposed a reservoir with an estimated budget of '55 lakh. However, the plan was not accepted under Community Investment Fund (CIF). With this, the project has been shelved and the water woes continued in the area, the locals say.

Earlier, there were only 130 tap connections in the colony, but the number has shot up to 320 now. These households are the ones worried about the impending summer, say GVMC officials.