HYDERABAD: Residents of Debeerpura Colony have relied on contaminated drinking water mixed with sewage for the past two months. Meanwhile, they say the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWSSB) has ignored repeated complaints.
Now, the water crisis also affects a primary school that shares the same premises.
Speaking to HyderabadMail, Advocate Bader Unnisa, who lives in the colony where a government primary school operates on the ground and first floors of her building, described the situation. She said the water crisis began in late May and has continued since then. For example, images she shared show murky, brownish-yellow water reportedly supplied to the premises. "We have a water shortage, and the water we do get is contaminated with sewage. HMWSSB officials are not taking any action," she said.
Unnisa said the municipal water supply is supposed to run daily from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. However, in reality, they receive water for only 45 minutes to an hour. Even then, much of the supply is contaminated. She explained, "We get water from 11 to 1, but from 11 to 12:30, it is dirty and polluted. Only after 12:30 do we get some clean water."
School children affected
The building houses a primary school for students up to Class 5. About 30 to 35 children attend classes there. As a result, Unnisa asked, "How can we give this kind of water to children?" She said the contamination affects students throughout the school day since they depend on the same water supply.
Unnisa said the problem extends to the entire neighbourhood, not just the school. Six to eight households receive the same contaminated water supply. Residents pay money for water but receive only a small quantity, and most of it is unfit for use.
Unnisa believes that sewage is contaminating the municipal drinking water supply. "There is a high chance that sewage is getting into our drinking water," she said. Moreover, she added that the entire pipeline is affected.
Residents said they have complained to the local lineman many times. "Every time he visits, he says, 'We are doing something,' but nothing changes," Unnisa said. Despite this, and two months of complaints, residents say no one has fixed the contamination or restored a full, clean water supply to the colony.
Residents are seeking urgent intervention from the HMWSSB. They are asking officials to inspect the pipeline, identify the source of sewage contamination, and restore a safe and uninterrupted municipal water supply to the colony.