A colony in Bawana that's off DJB's radar (Times of India 24 June 2012)

NEW DELHI: Every day at 5.30pm, 10-year-old Soni rushes out of her single-room house to be the first to fill water from a corroded iron pipe jutting out from the roadside. Such is the scene at the Bawana resettlement colony-home to almost 1 lakh residents but deprived of Delhi Jal Board water supply. Other children even younger than Soni come running to quench their thirst, hopping over open sewers to reach the pipe.

Some emerge from their houses holding buckets, while others come with utensils of all shapes and sizes. The older children follow with the bigger vessels as their mothers jockey for a position close to the pipes jutting out from different points along the lanes.

The resettlement came up in 2002 but still doesn't have proper water supply. For meeting their water requirements for bathing, drinking and cooking, there is a common supply line through tubewells installed by the slum and JJ wing of the erstwhile MCD and now manned by the Delhi government's Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) in areas under its jurisdiction.
The common supply system was actually an interim arrangement for residents relocated from different slums in the city to this far-flung area. But more than a decade later, the tubewells are the only source of water. Water comes thrice a day but the low pressure and teeming numbers leave many thirsting for more.
The water hour unravels poverty at its worst. The taps provided in common areas have all disappeared; those relatively well off have resorted to either illegal boring or are drawing water from the common supply line using electric motors. The majority have no fall-back options. They can be seen filling their buckets, utensils and every kind of vessel that can store water from small pipes linked to the common supply line that runs along open sewers.
Kashmira, who is in her early 20s and pregnant, told TOI that their life depends on the pumphouse located in a dilapidated room at a vacant plot earmarked for building a park. Similar pumphouses are located in other blocks too.Mohd Inaam, a Class XII student, led TOI to empty enclosures which once had taps. "They have all been filched," he says while pointing at the water gushing out of a pipe. Inaam is part of a youth group called Shakti, formed by NGO Jagori. The group comprises about 40 boys. An equal number of girls from the resettlement build awareness and collect information on the problems of the area under the banner of Saathi. The women, too, raise issues through Nigrani Samiti.
Kailash, a resident who is associated with Jagori, points out that the youth group and the women's collective meet every week. "These groups identify the problems in various blocks. So far, we have focused on building awareness.
Water has been a serious issue here and we have taken it up with the authorities from time to time. The water is not fit for drinking and people keep falling sick. At times, the water stinks, but only few can afford clean drinking water," Kailash added. The residents recently met MLA Surinder Kumar to discuss water shortage. Kumar told TOI that funds have been sanctioned by DUSIB and released to DJB for laying pipelines. He claimed that work would begin soon. According to DUSIB sources, the board has assessed the conditions in the various resettlements under it. Top sources say the resettlements have been neglected for over a decade now.
"Funds to the tune of Rs 87 crore were sanctioned earlier this year for various developmental works in 24 resettlements, including Bawana. Of the total sum, Rs 27 crore is to be used by DJB for water supply lines," sources said.
It has been learnt that DUSIB is planning to transfer the maintenance of resettlements to the three new municipal bodies later this year.