New Delhi: “Forget drinking or cooking, we can’t even use this water to brush our teeth or wash our hands. It is getting worse by the day,” said Nakkul Mehta, 47, a resident of BE Block Janakpuri.Since July, at least 192 families living in BE Block have been struggling with contaminated water that has left them spending an estimated Rs 400 a day for drinking and daily needs, according to Mehta, the local RWA president. At Rs 12,000 a month, the expenditure comes to an average Rs 1.5 lakh a year – for something as basic as clean water. “I have a family of five. For us, it’s an additional financial burden,” he said.Several residents TOI spoke to said the water supplied to their homes has been contaminated for years. Many are forced to buy water bottles for drinking, cooking and washing.“We are not managing the situation anymore, we are suffering. The water is so dirty that it can’t be used even for basic household purposes. Some people have fallen sick and others have reported skin problems. We can’t just leave our homes and relocate, so we have no option but to deal with this problem,” a resident said.Rajiv Paasi, a 62-year-old resident, said the requirement of water is not limited to drinking. “Most families in the area have four members. Water is needed throughout the day — for cooking, washing, bathing and basic household activities. And the water that’s supplied is absolutely unusable for any purpose.”Residents said while they have faced this issue in the past too, the situation worsened since July 2 when the area witnessed severe sewer overflow. During the summer, DJB had installed a temporary pumping arrangement which, residents said, helped drain the accumulated sewage and temporarily improved the situation. However, the pump was later removed during construction work, following which all problems related to sewer and water contamination returned, the residents said.On Wednesday, residents showed water samples collected from their flats to DJB officials and demanded that the source of the contamination be identified. A DJB official assured them the sewer connection work would be completed within a few days and water-quality testing will also be carried out by the technical team. Residents have sought copies of the inspection and test reports once the exercise is completed.Meanwhile, while residents in one part of the city are paying to avoid unsafe water, people in another area are waiting for supply to return. In Madangir G Block, residents said their taps had remained completely dry for the past two days, while other pockets had reported intermittent or partial disruptions. Several residents also said the price of bottled water had increased amid the shortage – what earlier cost around Rs 40 is now being sold for Rs 150.“We have been without water for two days. To make matters worse, the price of water has gone up. We need at least two 20-litre bottles of water every day,” a resident said.
