Residents across several areas of Indore faced a severe water shortage over the weekend after a power supply failure disrupted the crucial supply from the Narmada river. The incident, which began on Thursday evening, left numerous overhead tanks empty and forced citizens to rely on water tankers.
Power Grid Failure Triggers Supply Disruption
The crisis originated from an electrical fault at the Khargone grid station on Thursday evening. This fault directly impacted the power supply to the Jalood grid, which is vital for operating the Narmada water supply network. Officials confirmed that all three phases of the supply system were non-functional between 7:20 PM and 8:45 PM on Thursday.
Widespread Impact on City's Water Tanks
The power disruption had an immediate and severe effect on the city's water distribution. A total of 14 overhead tanks in the eastern part of Indore received no water at all. Key affected areas included:
- Scheme-114 (Part-1 & Part-2)
- Scheme-78 and Scheme-54
- Cotton Adda and Bhagirathpura
- Mahaveer Nagar and Sneh Nagar
- Gandhi Hall, Nanak Nagar, and Khatiwala Tank
Furthermore, nearly half a dozen other tanks could not be filled to their full capacity. These included tanks serving Annapurna, Chhatribagh, Sadar Bazar, Lokmanya Nagar, and Dravid Nagar, leading to low-pressure supply in connected localities.
Official Response and Resident Anguish
Narmada Project executive engineer Sanjeev Shrivastava stated that the empty overhead tanks did not receive their scheduled turn on Sunday, with supply expected to resume on Monday. While civic officials from the Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) claimed that alternate arrangements were made via water tankers and that there was no major crisis, ground reality painted a different picture.
Residents voiced their frustration and hardship. Rajat Saxena, a resident of Sneh Nagar, complained about not receiving water for the second consecutive day and expressed the need to hire a private tanker if the situation persisted. This gap between official claims and citizen experience highlighted the ongoing water supply challenges in the city.
The incident underscores the vulnerability of urban water infrastructure to power failures and the immediate distress it causes to thousands of households reliant on the Narmada project for their daily water needs.
