Two-day water cut in Nashik triggers citywide scarcity & tanker demand

Nashik: A two-day water cut imposed by the civic body from Saturday led to water scarcity in several parts of Nashik city due to disruption in water supply.Residents without adequate storage facilities looked for alternative options such as hiring private water tankers or purchasing water jars. The demand for private water tankers increased significantly across the city due to lack of water supply since Saturday.To mitigate the situation, Nashik Municipal Corporation (NMC) deployed 25 water tankers across the city to supply water to residents based on demand, but it was insufficient considering the population of the city.The civic body imposed the two-day water cut from Saturday to carry out repair works on major water distribution pipelines across six divisions as well as at its water treatment plants. Officials said water will be supplied at low pressure in the city on Monday, while normal supply will be restored from Tuesday."There has been a water cut in the city since Saturday. We received tap water from the NMC on Friday, but there was no supply on Saturday or Sunday due to repair works. We managed on Saturday, but faced severe shortage on Sunday. We also tried to get water through private tankers, but could not due to the sudden rise in demand," said Pravin Sonawane, a resident in the Dwarka area of the city."We had to face inconvenience due to the water cut for two consecutive days over the weekend. Finally, we had to bring water from the borewell of a neighbour in the colony to meet our daily requirements," said Krishna Mathur, another city resident.Mathur further said the civic body should avoid imposing water cuts for two consecutive days. Instead, the administration should plan for a single-day shutdown for repair and maintenance works, he said.Meanwhile, the demand for private water tankers increased sharply over the past three. Some residents had arranged for water through private tankers on Friday, a day before the two-day shutdown."There has been a sharp surge in demand for water tankers since Friday, and we made all possible efforts to meet residents' requirements. On a normal day, we supply around 15-20 water tankers, but over the past three days, from Friday to Sunday, we supplied water through nearly 150 tankers," said Akshay Tidke, a private water tanker operator.NMC officials said more than 80% of the repair works had been completed by noon on Sunday, and the remaining work was expected to be completed by Sunday night.