Old City dwellers cry foul over dirty drinking water

Hyderabad: Residents in several areas across the city, particularly in Old City localities, are frustrated by visibly polluted water flowing from drinking water taps for over a month now. The Water Board remains unresponsive to complaints, and additionally, residents complain about irregular water supply. According to residents, they have been receiving contaminated water for over a month, and the issue has not been rectified despite raising complaints to officials of the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWSSB). As a result, many waterborne diseases have been reported. The issue of contamination was highlighted by Mohammed Ahmed on social media, who uploaded a picture of the polluted water coming from the tap meant for drinking water supply. The post stated that such water was appearing in Moghalpura, Shalibanda, Sultan Shahi, and surrounding areas, causing diseases, harm, and risking people’s lives. He tagged the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWSSB) in his post and requested necessary action. The Water Board responded to the post, replying that a complaint had been registered and the issue had been informed to the section manager, who was the concerned person. However, there has been no response from the department since then.

“I kept reposting the issue since then, and still no work was initiated, and residents continued to receive contaminated water,” Ahmed stated. Areas where contaminated water has been reported include Nampally, Tolichowki, Shaikpet, Mehdipatnam, Manikonda, Begumpet, Amberpet, and Old City areas like Yakutpura, Moghalpura, Falaknuma, Chandrayangutta, among others.

“The drinking water issue has become a never-ending problem. Sometimes, we receive black-coloured water that is neither potable for drinking nor suitable for other purposes. Because of this, we are forced to purchase water cans.

We are vexed with complaining to the concerned officials about this perennial issue, as they always say it is not contaminated water but merely muddy water,” stated K Srikanth, a resident of Gowliguda. Meanwhile, Karwan MLA Kausar Mohiuddin on Tuesday raised strong objections on water supply issues in Karwan during a meeting with HMWSSB officials. The MLA highlighted that for the past several weeks, residents across Karwan have been facing severe inconvenience due to the disruption in regular water supply. However, HMWSSB acknowledged the problem and assured that immediate steps are being taken to restore consistency of water supply in affected areas. Moreover, in Begumpet, residents complained of drinking water turning discoloured and emitting a chemical smell. One resident of Chikoti Garden in Begumpet highlighted that the water was reeking of chemicals, asking officials by tagging HMWSSB on X, “Is this water safe to use?” Similarly, several other residents in the area have reportedly experienced the issue and raised concerns about water safety.