Ward officers told to visit areas with water scarcity

Mumbai: If you have a water supply problem in your area, the assistant commissioner of the concerned ward will personally visit your locality and attend to your grievances. Civic chief Ajoy Mehta has directed all ward officers to make personal visits to places where there is water scarcity and provide immediate solutions to residents.

With the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) facing severe flak due to water shortage across the city, Mr Mehta has decided to take desperate measures to tackle the problem.

In a monthly review meeting held at the civic headquarters Saturday, Mr Mehta asked ward officers and officials of the hydraulic and water supply departments to work in tandem to resolve the people’s grievances.

“In the meeting, the commissioner said that in areas affected by irregular water supply, the concerned ward officers should personally look into those complaints and if needed, make spot visits to resolve the grievances. In addition to this, ward officers of all 24 wards should regularly co-ordinate with officials of the hydraulic department and assistant engineer (water supply) in their wards and make necessary arrangements on priority basis,” said a senior civic official.

A ruckus erupted in the BMC house Friday over the water shortage problem in several pockets of the city. Opposition party members in the BMC threatened to stage a dharna at the mayor’s bungalow at Shivaji Park if water supply was not normalised before Diwali. They also alleged that the shortage of water was causing an increase in the number of contamination complaints in the city.