Residents of Rampur collect drinking water from a tanker in Gaya. Picture by Suman

Gaya, April 8: Residents here have got used to the daily fights over the most basic of elements for survival — water — but relief is underway in the form of pyaus (water storage tanks) being planned by the Gaya Municipal Corporation (GMC).

To minimise dependency upon tankers, pyaus have been planned at 45 points with water tanks of 2,000-litre capacity installed on the top.

A boring would be sunk at each pyau with 1 horsepower (HP) motor to fill the tank.

Keeping in view the power crisis, four mobile generators would ensure power supply for two hours at each pyau to fill the tanks. “There are also plans to connect the pyaus with a pipeline network through the narrow lanes, which tankers cannot access,” GMC commissioner Dharmesh Thakur said.

Various areas of Gaya town have been reeling under acute water crisis caused by depletion in underground water table. But the residents have got an additional challenge at hand — to carry water from the point the GMC tanker arrives to their residences. To add to their misery, neither is there any fixed day for the tankers to arrive nor is there any fixed timing. Residents have to remain alert to collect and store water.

April is just beginning but water scarcity has assumed alarming proportions in localities like Rampur, AP Colony, Hanuman Nagar, Shashtri Nagar, Magadh Colony, Anand Vihar Colony, Housing Colony, Godavari, Mangala Gauri, Gewal Bigha, Station Road and Bageshwari. The situation is likely to further worsen in May and June when the temperature crosses 45ºC.

Though GMC had chalked plans to meet the challenge, it does not seem to be sufficient. Moreover, it would take a long time for implementation of the plans to provide relief to people.

A youth, Niraj Kumar, filling water from a tanker at Devi Asthan on southern part of Gaya College Road told The Telegraph that there 45 families were listed to get water from the tanker. To prevent people from jostling while filling water, a lottery system had been introduced. Normally, each family gets five gallons, equivalent to 120 litres, of water per day. Even that is not sufficient for a family with an average of five members.

Ranjit Kumar Verma, a professor of chemistry at Magadh University and

a resident of AP Colony, said there was only one 12,000-litre tanker

to provide water to 10000 residents each at AP Colony and the housing

board colony. Residents, however, had met the GMC commissioner and

demanded at least four tankers daily. “Last year, three tankers used

to come to AP Colony and the housing board colony,” Verma said.

The GMC commissioner told The Telegraph: “Water tankers of 3,000-litre

capacity are being sent to 40 areas identified as water deficient. One

12,000-litre tanker is being sent to AP Colony. However, water supply

through tankers is not the permanent solution to the crisis.”