Lokmat News Network
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar:
Mayor Sameer Rajurkar arrived in the city from Mumbai at 6 am on Wednesday. After spending barely an hour at home, he began work at 7 am, setting out in his private vehicle to assess the city’s water supply situation. The sudden inspection caught officials off guard.
A review meeting regarding the city’s water supply has been scheduled for Monday, where the mayor will hold discussions with municipal commissioner G Sreekanth and concerned officials.
At present, the city receives water once every eight to ten days. Due to pipeline bursts, technical faults and other issues, the supply schedule is often postponed at least once a week. With February heat already setting in, the demand for water has increased across various parts of the city. Every summer, residents face acute water scarcity, and in Gunthewari areas the demand for water tankers rises sharply.
Under the new water supply scheme, authorities had announced that additional water would be made available from January. However, even as February is halfway through, the promised trial of the additional 200 MLD water supply has not yet taken place. Citizens expect that the increased supply should begin at least before the onset of peak summer.
Immediately after the election process for mayor and deputy mayor concluded, Rajurkar had left for Mumbai by car to meet the Chief Minister. He departed from Mumbai around midnight and reached the city at 6 am. By 7 am, without informing anyone, he drove to Chikalthana to review the water supply situation in that area. It was found that residents there receive water only once in nine to ten days.
As the inspection was unannounced, even the concerned corporators were taken by surprise, and officials were informed only later. The mayor subsequently decided to convene a detailed meeting on Monday in the presence of the commissioner.
Back-to-back meetings at office
The mayor reached his office at 9.30 am, where visitors had already begun lining up to meet him. Meetings continued until 1 pm. After returning to the office again at 4 pm, another long queue of visitors awaited him.