Gurgaon: Around 700 families at Silver Oaks are bearing the brunt of an acute water crisis that has gripped DLF-1.The water shortage, which has persisted for the past three days, has forced the residents to depend on private tankers and ration water for essential household needs.While GMDA’s water supply was disrupted for “three consecutive days” — as the residents said — it was supplied for a few hours early Friday morning, but “it stopped again”, leaving hundreds of families dependent on whatever water was available in their underground tanks.Silver Oaks RWA joint secretary Aseem Bakshi told TOI, “Our underground tank has to maintain a minimum water level for the pumps to operate, but the level has now fallen considerably. We have been facing the problem for the last three days. Water came around 2am on Friday, but after that there has been no supply.”With the shortage worsening, residents have been trying to arrange private tankers, but getting tankers has also become difficult as most agencies are “already catering to other societies and residential areas” facing similar shortages, they told TOI.“Yesterday, we tried to order tankers, but almost every agency we contacted was busy supplying other areas. We could arrange only a limited quantity of water for a society of 700 families and barely managing with it. We are now exploring getting around three tankers more, which would cost us nearly Rs 30,000 a day,” Bakshi said.GMDA officials, meanwhile, said that earlier the supply was getting affected due to tripping at Basai water treatment plant.On Wednesday, a leakage was detected in a 1,300mm pipeline near Basai. “The leakage was repaired on Thursday night and the system is expected to stabilise now. The supply should become smooth once the network is fully streamlined,” the official said.The shortage has also affected basic household activities. Residents said they have had to purchase packaged drinking water separately while using tanker water for toilets, utensils and other essential requirements.Arun Kapoor, one of the residents, said, “We have reached a situation where a water crisis can continue for three days and that is extremely concerning. If the pipeline is old and needs replacement, it should have been done much earlier. We are not talking about water for bathing or other luxuries — we are talking about drinking water, washing hands and basic sanitation. While population has increased, but the infrastructure has not been upgraded accordingly.”“Most of the residents living here are senior citizens. Some residents are even forced to atay with at their relatives and hotels. Water is a basic necessity and it is difficult to live without it,” said Ravi Aurora, one of the residents.With normal supply yet to be restored fully, RWA has even advised residents to avoid washing clothes and other activities that can be postponed until normal supply is restored.“We are requesting everyone in the society to use water judiciously. Washing clothes and other activities that can be avoided are being discouraged until regular supply resumes,” one of the RWA members said.
