GUWAHATI: The residents of RG Baruah Road, commonly known as Zoo Road, have been witnessing a perennial water crisis for the past several months which is set to become worse in the next few months with the advent of the winter season.
Several apartment complexes at the Zoo Road stretch have been dependent on water tankers for their everyday water needs for the past several years now. Apartments such as the posh Spanish Garden have to rely on private water operators to fulfill their daily water requirement.
“The apartment management has outsourced the water delivery to a private operator who supplies water to our apartment. Every day several water tankers are put in service throughout the day for the water use of the entire apartment complex,” Nandita Saikia, a resident of the apartment informed G Plus.
According to locals, other housing complexes, too, charge around Rs 5,000 per month towards maintenance. However, without the water bill the maintenance cost ranges anywhere between Rs 1,500 and Rs 2,000.
Further, more buildings and apartment complexes are being constructed in the area, raising concern about the sustainability of these apartments and the residents’ potable water needs.
On the other hand, builders are also facing the heat due to the water crisis in and around the Zoo Road.
“The main cause for concern is the depleting underground water level which is going down day by day. Metropolitan cities such as Kolkata, Delhi, and Mumbai, also face water crisis but there the governments are actively involved in providing relief to the residents,” Debajit Borah, a Guwahati-based builder informed G Plus.
He added that the Assam government, too, should follow their footsteps and provide water facility to areas with low levels of groundwater.
