Leprosy colony faces water supply shortage
Residents of Leprosy Colony in Pune struggle for safe drinking water, facing shortages despite efforts from the PMC and local NGOs to improve supply.
Pune: It is a daily struggle to access safe drinking water for the residents of Leprosy Colony in Antulyanagar, Kondhwa-Yewalewadi. The colony is home to 2,000 people affected by leprosy, disabled, orphans, elderly and their families.
The colony’s residents have been facing severe water shortage for the past few years. Their persistent efforts to reach out to the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) bore fruit when the civic administration increased the daily water tanker count from one to two. The civic body’s earlier initiative to set up water tanks in each lane on the compound failed since the residents could not move out to fetch water because of their disabilities.
Later, the residents built one underground and another overhead water tanks with capacities of 2 lakh litres and 1.5 lakh litres respectively. Apanga Leprosy Punarvasan Va Yuvak Sangathan Antulenagar NGO and a company under its CSR (corporate social responsibility) project built the tanks and Rotary Club of Pune Central covered the expense of laying the water pipeline. The project provided tap water facility to all households of leprosy-affected individuals.
However, the residents continued to face water woes as the municipal supply every alternate day for one hour often stopped within 45 minutes and was not enough to meet the community’s needs.
“Our many letters and personal meetings with PMC water department officials have not moved the civic administration to take effective steps,” said Satish Sawant, member of Apanga Leprosy Punarvasan Va Yuvak Sangathan Antulenagar and representative of residents.
Pannalal Nikam, Leprosy Colony leader, said, “We need at least 2-3 hours of water supply every day. PMC should be more considerate towards us who already face social stigma and are the forsaken lot.”
Hemant More of PMC water department said, “We are supplying water to the colony and will take steps to send more tankers. We have to distribute water to areas as per the allocated quota.”
Nitin Khude, PMC water department official, said, “The area of Kondhwa and NIBM gets very little municipal water supply. We met the residents of Leprosy Colony and are trying our best to address their water supply issue.”
