Himachal Residents getting rationed supply after four-five days Kuldeep Chauhan Shimla, May 25 Residents in the city are reeling under acute water shortage for the last few days.
While the residents are buying bottled water for drinking and cooking, hoteliers are solely depending on tankers in the tourist season.
The Shimla Municipal Corporation (SMC) is struggling to ration 21 MLD of water that was pumped from its major sources these days.
The water availability per resident was just 5 litre as on Friday.
The city needs 45 MLD water daily, but the water availability has come down from 29 MLD last week to 21 MLD on Friday.
Guma, which has 20 MLD capacity, and Giri, which has 20 MLD capacity, could supply just 4 MLD and 14 MLD, respectively, revealed MC supply chart.
“The BJP-led MC has failed to provide water to its residents and hence its Mayor should resign,” said former Mayor Sanjay Chauhan.
“To meet the water needs in the coming weeks, the MC is floating tenders to press in service private tankers to lift water from Chaba,” he added.
Crisis at peak The city needs 45 MLD water daily, but the water availability has come down from 29 MLD last week to 21 MLD on Friday.
Guma, which has 20 MLD capacity, and Giri, which has 20 MLD capacity, could supply just 4 MLD and 14 MLD, respectively.

A new study that looks at the water competition between cities and agriculture has found that urban water demand in 482 of the world’s largest cities will increase by 80% by 2050, leading to an acute urban surface-water deficit.
READ Land: SA’s real watershed moment Recent studies have estimated that between 3,5 billion and 4,4 billion people are expected to live with water scarcity in 2050 because of climate change and increasing water demand for human activities.
More than one billion urban residents may face water shortage in the future due to urbanisation and climate change.
Urban-rural comparison A new study, ‘Water competition between cities and agriculture driven by climate change and urban growth’, has assessed urban water provision amid climate change impacts and socioeconomic changes by 2050.
The study also provides estimates of the urban surface-water deficit, highlighting the competition between urban water provision, agricultural water demand and environmental flow requirements.
The study quantifies the urban surface-water deficit as well as additional withdrawals from groundwater resources (urban groundwater footprint) in the future by testing two scenarios.
Globally, under the urban-first priority scenario, about 14 000km2 of irrigated area will be at risk of crop-water deficit in transfer of water, showing that urban surface-water withdrawals decrease water security for people who live far from the city centre.
Reducing urban water deficit Altogether, 40% of the cities (409 million people) are vulnerable to urban surface-water deficits under the last-priority scenario because of competition with water abstractions for irrigation.
Urban water demand could be met in these basins by improving water-use efficiency of the agricultural sector as a soft-path measure to reduce irrigation-water withdrawals.
A moderate increase of 10% in irrigation water-use efficiency (0,3%/year over a 50-year period), could reduce the urban surface-water deficit by about 2,62 billion cubic metres and therefore help 78% of the vulnerable cities and their 236 million urbanites to overcome water deficits in the future.

Several city and cantonment areas are facing acute water shortage and the residents complained that they are not being supplied adequate water supply RAWALPINDI, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News – 24th May, 2018 ) :Several city and cantonment areas are facing acute water shortage and the residents complained that they are not being supplied adequate water supply.
Some parts of Rawalpindi Cantonment Board (RCB) and city including Imambara Mohalla, Mohalla Kareempura, Mohalla Raja Sultan, Krishanpura, Bhabra Bazaar, Committee Chowk, Pirwadhai, Afshan Colony, Peoples Colony, Masrial Road, Dhoke Syedan, Bakra Mandi and other areas are facing water scarcity.
Crowd can be seen at water filtration plants because several areas were reported without water for many days but the authorities concerned are making just verbal claims of sufficient supply and even providing water by tankers also.
The residents of different areas suffer most as they have to buy water from the tanker mafia who charge them at their will.
The owners now demand Rs 800 to 1,000 for a water tanker, which was supplied for Rs 500 before the shortage.
The areas around Peshawar Road, including Afshan Colony, Saddar, Misrial Road and Kohinoor Mills, besides Chungi No 22 and surrounding area are also facing shortage.
"We have to buy water from tanker mafia at exorbitant price."
The situation in the city is not different as the shortage of water supply to several areas has made lives of the residents miserable.
Haji Iqbal, Abdul Waheed, Tanveer Iqbal and others said the residents are facing great difficulties due to water shortage but the authorities concerned are paying no heed towards the resolution of the issue.
They informed that there is no regular water supply for their areas and the department of water supply was playing a role of silent spectator.

People living in the tribal area of Shahabad, Baran are facing severe drinking water crisis.
Residents of Kaglavar village of Gadreta Gram Panchayat do not have any other option other than going to a nearby pond, one kilometer away, to get their daily dose of drinking water.
Villagers fear it is contaminated and, therefore, not fit for consumption.
They added that they have no other option than drinking contaminated water from the pond at Khatka village.
There is a tube-well in their village, but it is not functional since last two months The water scarcity and consumption of contaminated water is resulting in spreading of diseases among the village population.
However, to some respite, a water tanker came to the village for the second time in the last two months, on Thursday.
Gram Panchayat, Development Officer, Subdivision Officer and the officials of the water resources department have appealed for drinking water arrangements many a times, but no one has paid any heed to them.
Gram Panchayat Gadreta Sarpanch Meenakshi Saharia said that they have requested the department to install tankers several times but to no avail.
The Panchayat will work at its level and make arrangements for drinking water in Kaglavar village.
Assistant Engineer with the department in Shahabad Surendra Bairwa said that 79 water tankers are operational in Shahabad area and drinking water is being supplied to 31 villages.

Bhopal: Water scarcity at Shankracharya Homes in Baghsevaniya has forced its 80 families to consume unsafe red water leading to stomach infection and other ailments.
Red water is the generic term for water with high-particulate iron concentrations due to corrosion by-product release.
High iron concentrations in the source water can cause red water problems, while leaks can be caused by corrosive soil acting on the outside of the pipes as well as by corrosive water acting on the inside of the pipes.
The residents so now have to depend on borewell which has red water.
Consumption of unsafe red water has led to various stomach issues and many people of the society have complained about it, he added.
We have no option.
We are compelled to consume contaminated water after missing it with Narmada water h. We have complained and written over 50 letters to Mayor, BMC officials and engineers but to no avail,” said Sharma expressing utter helplessness.
The 66-year-old forest officer further said, “We have personal borewell, but since its water was red we applied for bulk Narmada water connection in January 2012 and paid Rs 2.70 lakh to BMC in July 2015.
Finally we got connections in April14, 2016.” But the water being supplied by BMC is not sufficient to meet the requirement of the residents.
We must take action, if we get such complaint.

PATNA: The Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC) board, in its meeting on Wednesday, approved installation of at least 375 submersible pumps in all 75 wards of the city.
The meet was chaired by Patna mayor Sita Sahu.
The installation work is expected to start soon,” said mayor Sita Sahu.
It was also decided in the meeting that on every Monday and Thursday, PMC officials would submit ward-wise reports to municipal commissioner Keshav Ranjan Prasad regarding the progress of ongoing drainage cleaning work till June 15.
Sahu said a new firm would be appointed for carrying out door-to-door garbage collection work in the next standing committee meeting.
13 wards to get LED street lights soon: The Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) will begin the work of replacing the existing sodium vapour street lights with energy-efficient light emitting diode (LED) ones in 13 wards of Patna from May 26.
A decision in this regard was taken at the meeting of the Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC) board on Wednesday.
According to civic body officials, the survey for installation of approximately 50,000 LED street lights and poles has been conducted in wards 4, 5, 6, 8, 11, 12, 16, 18, 20, 25, 27, 37 and 38.
Electric poles will also be installed on several streets as per the survey.
Sahu said, “The installation of LED street lights on Bailey Road will also commence from May 26.” Get latest news & live updates on the go on your pc with News App.

Bhopal: To cater to the water requirement in the areas which were sans pipelines, the municipal body had dug up several public bore wells, however, to no one’s surprise, many of these have fallen into private hands.
Unable to apprehend the severity of water shortage in summers, the civic authorities had severed several connections of the bore wells believing that Narmada water supply would meet the requirement.
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Squarespace With no BMC men to operate these public boding, some private players have come into scene enforcing their control over these public water sources.
Residents of Mangalwara said that a few influential persons have taken control over the public borings and were operating it as per sweet will without taking into consideration the requirement of other people.
Besides, the civic body even severed connection of most of these borings after water supply pipelines were laid in the area.
Leader of opposition in the BMC, Mohammad Sageer also admitted that public borings were being operated by local influential persons.
Had the municipal administration endured that these government borings remained under its hand, water shortage situation in the city would not have become so grim, he added.
Former mayor Vibha Patel questioned the municipal authorities’ decision to discontent connection of the borings at a time when the city is reeling under water shortage.
Expressing ignorance over the complaints of borings being managed by private persons, Wadika said that he will visit the areas to check the matter.

Minister says billions have been and will be spent to address ‘serious’ water shortage AMMAN — As Jordan has spent more than JD3 billion on its water infrastructure to cater for a spiraling water demand over the past five years, Minister of Water and Irrigation Ali Ghezawi said on Sunday that the international community’s support to its water sector was “below the needed level”.
During a meeting with the press, Ghezawi underlined that Jordan’s hosting of hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees had a toll on the Kingdom’s water shares and infrastructure, expressing dismay over the international community’s “low level of response” to Jordan’s challenging water situation.
With over 1.3 million Syrian refugees living in the country, demand for water has increased, especially in the north, where the water per capita share has dropped by half since Syrian refugees began arriving in the country, according to the ministry.
Against this backdrop, the government “has no plan to raise the water tariff this year or anytime soon”, Ghezawi affirmed, underlining that, in 2017, the government supported the water sector with JD246 million, constituting 21.4 per cent of its deficit that year.
“Water projects worth JD4.76 billion will have been implemented by 2023; this explains the increasing indebtedness of the water sector, which stands at JD2.01 billion and makes up 7.4 per cent of the government’s JD27.2 billion debt,” Ghezawi noted.
Over the past 10 years, the ministry has implemented 144 projects worth JD3.145 billion, in addition to 12 projects worth JD145 million to reduce the running costs of the water resources, the minister said, noting that it has managed to save JD12 million after implementing projects to reduce the expenditure of water resources.
Such projects entail the Red Sea-Dead Sea Water Conveyance Project, the Amman-Shidiyeh-Hassa Water Conveyance Project, Red Sea desalination water, Wadi Al Arab Water Project, Waleh/Heidan Project, Tannour Dam Project, Hisban River Project, Mujib Dam Water Conveyance Project, as well as several water treatment plants and new dams.
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From left: Sri Widowati, ADB Country Director of the Sri Lanka Resident Mission and R.H.S.
Samarathunga, Secretary to the Treasury, Ministry of Finance and Mass Media The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Sri Lankan government signed a US $210 million second tranche loan agreement for the Mahaweli Water Security Investment Programme to assist Sri Lanka complete its ongoing drive to deliver surplus water from the Mahaweli river basin to its dry zone, where scarce supplies undermine agricultural output and household incomes.
“This availability of water will contribute to accelerating local and national economic growth”.
Samarathunga, Secretary to the Treasury, Ministry of Finance and Mass Media, signed for the Government of Sri Lanka.
The dry zone is home to nearly a third of the country’s population, with 70 percent of rural dwellers dependent on agriculture for their livelihood.
However, the zone receives less than 1,500 millimeters of rain per year, and droughts are common, which severely affects agricultural output.
As a result, average household incomes are around 10 percent lower than other parts of the country, and this situation is expected to worsen as the population grows and rainfall in the region diminishes further due to climate change.
ADB’s Multitranche Financing Facility (MFF) – totaling US $453 million will finance more than 250 kilometers of new and upgraded canals, reservoirs, and other irrigation infrastructure, in addition to conducting studies on improving water management and delivery systems.
The first tranche loan of US $150 million was made in 2015, and this is the second tranche of the MFF, which will finance the construction of the Kalu Ganga-Moragahakanda Transfer Canal, a part of the Upper Elahera Canal, two new reservoirs namely Mahakithula and Mahakirula, and the inlet tunnel of the Mahakirula Reservior.
ADB, based in Manila, is dedicated to reducing poverty in Asia and the Pacific through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth, and regional integration.

Similarly, Pakpattan canal (lower) which irrigates Lodhran and Vehari, and it was faced with 25 percent shortage.
When contacted assistant director agriculture information, Naveed Asmat Kahloon how to counter this water scarcity, he informed that the Punjab government had launched various schemes to ensure efficient use of irrigation water.
He informed that Punjab government was offering 60 percent subsidy on drip and sprinkler system in order to facilitate the farming community.
Similarly, 80 subsidy is being given on solar tubewells.
About benefits of drip and sprinkler irrigation system, Naveed informed that it was highly effective.
If one acre is irrigated by conventional flood irrigation way, then the farmers could irrigate 20 acres with the same water, in case they shift their focus on modern drip irrigation system.
The drip irrigation system was installed at 10,000 acres in the region with assistance of government.
To a query what should farmer do who lacked drip irrigation system in their fields, the assistant director Naveed Asmat Kahloon suggested that the farmers should cultivate crops on beds and furrows.
The water channels should also be kept clean from all sorts of silt.
The farmers should not allow bathing of animals in water channels as some time the animals sit in middle of water tributeries and thus affect flow of water.