It took the civic authorities nearly 12 hours to fix the leak in the pipeline
While Marathwada struggles for water with eight of its 11 dams completely dry, lakhs of litres of clear drinking water is being completely wasted in Mumbai. Nearly a day after a leak was spotted in a pipeline at Ghatkopar in eastern Mumbai, water continued to gush out, leaving the road flooded.
It took the civic authorities nearly 12 hours to fix the leak.
The pipeline supplies water to Shivaji Nagar for just an hour every day. Most of that supply is dirty water.
"There is no particular timing for water supply. It comes at 8 am sometimes. The motor is left switched on up to 9-10 am. Hence it ends up getting damaged sometimes. Even if water supply does come, it is for four to five minutes and is dirty and is very irregular. We have children to take care of," said Shahjahan Sheikh, a resident of Shivaji Nagar.
"While we hardly get any, water is wasted at certain places," added Salma, another resident.
Local corporators too insist authorities must act against water leaks.
"Leakage is the biggest problem. We have complained about it. The mafia have put taps into the water lines at certain locations to sell it. When there is pressure, water overflows and gets dirty due to these leakages. If you open the taps in the morning, you will feel like the water is from the sewage," said Siraj Sheikh, an independent corporator.