Locals in Vidisha claim water tankers are not enough to meet their demands
Residents of Madhya Pradesh's Vidisha district, located barely 50 km from capital Bhopal, are grappling with abnormally high temperatures and a severe water crisis this summer.
The water shortage has affected locals in as many as 10 of the 36 wards in Vidisha, where the mercury has soared to 47 degree Celsius this season.
Vidisha is the Lok Sabha Constituency of senior BJP leader and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.
The municipal corporation is trying to meet the increasing clamour for water by sending tankers to the parched areas. But locals, who have to scramble to get a share of the water every time a tanker arrives in the area, claim that's not enough to meet their demand.
Mukesh Ahirwar, a Vidisha resident, told NDTV, "The water is not reaching our taps. The waters tankers don't reach us on a regular basis. The tanker comes to our neighbourhood after a gap of one or two days, and that is not enough".
Banna, another local resident, agrees, "There is a mad rush when water tankers arrive and in the chaos, most of us are not able to fill our pots."
Meanwhile, officials of the municipal corporation seem to be in denial about the water shortage.
"Our arrangements are adequate and we have no information of any chaos during water distribution. We have tried to supply as much water as required in the areas. There is no problem," said R C Mishra, chief municipal officer of Vidisha.
Shashank Bhargava, secretary of the Madhya Pradesh Congress, blames inaction on the part of the state government and the municipal corporation, which, he claims, have not taken steps to address the problem.
In an apparent dig at Ms Swaraj, he said, "Leaders representing Vidisha have no willpower to work. Why should they work, as they are getting votes without doing so?"