Fatehabad village faces water shortage amid power cuts, canal shutdown

In Chandpura village, Fatehabad district, the drinking water crisis has worsened over the past month. The village’s water tank has dried up due to the closure of the Bhakra Canal, which has stopped the water supply. Furthermore, the ongoing wheat harvesting season has resulted in power cuts from 7 am to 7 pm every day, leaving residents struggling to look for drinking water in the scorching heat.

Chandpura, a village with a population of about 5,000, has two water supply systems. However, one system lacks an electricity connection and the other one has no power to run its pump. The villagers are now relying on the panchayat water supply, but this system can only be run with a generator, which is insufficient to meet the village’s water needs.

Residents, including Kala Grewal, Kuldeep Singh, Joginder Singh, Block Committee member Ramchandra, Leela Singh, and Jagat Singh, explained that the village was dependent on the Bhakra Canal for its water supply. Since the canal water supply had been halted since a month, the water tank had dried up, forcing people to depend on the panchayat’s water house. But with insufficient resources, one pump was being run using a generator, while the other was being operated by connecting it to a tractor due to lack of electricity.

The villagers have raised concerns about the growing water scarcity, especially during summer, and are facing severe difficulties.

Amrik Singh Grewal, the Sarpanch of Chandpura village, said that the Public Health Department suggested using generators to run the pumps, but it was impractical to rely on generators for the entire day’s water supply. The village panchayat was spending Rs 5,000 daily on diesel to run the water supply, but neither the Public Health Department nor the Irrigation Department was taking responsibility for the issue.

Mandeep Singh, the Junior Engineer of Public Health, acknowledged the problem and mentioned that one water system was connected to the power supply, so it should not face any issues. However, the village still depended on generators due to frequent power shortages. The department has agreed to cover the diesel expenses used for the generator.

Haryana Tribune