NOIDA: In a meeting with Noida Authority officials, the RWA federation raised issues of poor water supply faced due to shutdown of Ganga canal in Haridwar, dust pollution and untended trees in parks and green belts of residential sectors.
“We had a meeting with Neha Sharma additional chief executive officer (ACEO), Indu Prakash officer on special duty (OSD) and other senior officers of water and sewer departments of Noida Authority where we requested them to ensure avoiding cleaning the Ganga canal during Diwali and other festivals around this time of the year by communicating our demand to the Haridwar administration. We apprised ACEO Sharma that residents of Noida have to face the problem of water supply every year around Diwali festival as no alternative arrangements are made by Noida Authority to provide adequate quantity and quality water during the shutdown of the canal,” said Yogendra Sharma president Federation of Noida Residents Welfare Associations (FONRWA).
FONRWA secretary general, KK Jain said that during the cleaning of the Ganga water canal, Noida Authority should make alternative arrangements so that residents can continue to have adequate water supply. He also demanded repair and maintenance of old exiting tube wells and rain wells for the purpose. “In order to reduce the dependency on Ganga water, it is necessary that we repair old, non-working rain wells and tube wells, and construct new tube wells.
There should be a system of water harvesting system at community centers, big parks and other suitable places, which can recharge maximum water in the ground. This will also improve the ground water level and during the rains, water will not flood the roads and go directly into the sewer. We have been demanding for the past many years that filters be installed in water tanks of Noida Authority for supplying good quality drinking water to the residents of Noida. But no satisfactory progress has been made in this regard,” he added.
On water scarcity issue, ACEO Sharma informed the residents’ body that at present the demand of water in Noida is 406 MLD where 340 MLD of ground water is sourced from tube wells and rain wells while 240 MLD of Ganga water is available with Noida Authority. During the non-availability of 240 MLD Ganga water, it is impossible to meet the requirements for 406 MLD. “Noida authority has 11 rain wells and 431 tube wells. Out of these, ground water level is constantly falling in 5 rain wells and 125 tube wells. There is a need to raise the ground water level to restart these wells. For this, the Authority is in collaboration with the Central Ground Water Commission and VEPCAS Team which will survey the stalled rain wells and tube wells, after which Authority will fix the problem of low levels of ground water,” he added.
On pending horticulture related works, OSD Indu Prakash informed the RWA body that all tenders to develop the parks and their upkeep have been issued and soon work will begin on pruning of trees and maintenance of parks and green belts.