Jaipur:
As the heat continues to remain oppressive in Rajasthan and with little sign of the monsoon's arrival, water scarcity has worsened in the state. With the monsoon delayed by nearly two weeks, the Bisalpur Dam, the main source of water for the cities of Jaipur and Ajmer is in danger of drying up by July 30.
The Rajasthan and Gehlot government have prepared an Emergency Plan. Private tubewells will be used for water supply by the government and even borewells in parks and gardens will be used to provide water to people through tankers.
"We have finalised an emergency scheme. We will use tubewells to supply water to people. Jaipur's daily share of water from the Bisalpur dam will now be made half and some colonies on the city's outskirts will now get water once in 2 days," said Mahipal Maderna, Water Minister, Rajasthan.
People are distraught as the crisis continues unabated. "In our area, water tankers often come once in three days now. And there are lots of quarrels in getting water," said a local resident.
With most people battling water shortage, cooling off in swimming pools seems a wasteful luxury and the government has appealed to all swimming pool owners whether in clubs, hotels or schools to close down their pools till the water crisis remains serious.