A woman struggles to wash clothes after the water supply was disrupted in Muzaffarpur. Picture by Prakash Kumar

Muzaffarpur, July 13: Taps in several areas of the city ran dry this morning following the decision of the civic body employees under the banner of Nagar Nigam Kamgar Union (NNKU) to disrupt water supply in phases.

The municipal taps at densely populated localities, including Chandwara, Naya Tola, Azad Road, Malighat, Rambagh, Jail Road and Amrud Bagan, had no supply of water this morning.

The employees of the union had earlier decided to disrupt water supply in all the 49 wards of the corporation to exert pressure on the civic body to meet their six-point demand, including the payment of their salaries according to the Sixth Pay Commission recommendations. However, in a late night decision, the union decided to disrupt water supply in a phase-wise manner and on a rotational basis. The members of the union also met the employees’ association of Tirhut Area Electricity Board and asked them not to provide electricity during the time of water supply.

Employees of Jal Karyakarmi Sangh, a sister outfit of NNKU, remained absent from water supply tower at Jail Road, Chandwara, Naya Tola and Marwari High School campus. “These areas went without the supply of municipal water in the morning and afternoon. We faced a lot of hardships in collecting drinking water,” said Mohammad Jawaid, an LIC employee.

There are not any government-run hand-pumps in the locality and people were seen running from pillar to post to get hold of a bucket of water.

“The residents of Naya Tola collected water from private hand-pumps from the houses of the neighbours,” said Vikas Kumar, a computer technician.

The secretary of the Nagar Nigan Kamgar Union, Rameshwar Rai, told The Telegraph: “The executive body has approved the decision to disrupt water supply on a rotational basis in a meeting last night. Earlier, the union was determined to disrupt the water supply in the entire city but the members of the executive body requested the employees to consider the problems of the residents. Jal Karyakarmi Sangh has been asked to disrupt water supply in a phase-wise manner and on a rotational pattern at the localities.”

The employees of the union were also locked in a scuffle with the employees of Nidan, a private agency who have been asked to remove the garbage, at Saraiyaganj.

The employees on strike took out a procession from the corporation office and agitated outside the offices of the divisional commissioner (Tirhut), S.M. Raju, district magistrate Santosh Kumar Mall and municipal commissioner Arun Kumar Singh.

Mall convened a high-level meeting here today with the senior superintendent of police Rajesh Kumar, Singh and other administrative officers to assess the situation following the non-removal of garbage, the scarcity of drinking water and other failures of the civic amenities in view of the ongoing strike.