New Delhi: Acute scarcity of water in Mehrauli constituency -- be it upscale colonies or urban villages -- may change the electoral tide this time against Congress MLA and Speaker of Delhi Assembly Yoganand Shastri.
Residents of Mehrauli said supply of water in the area is very erratic and often they have to rely on water tankers operated by private entities which charge "hefty" amount.
Though Shastri claimed series of measures have been taken to improve supply of water in the past five years, the residents complained that the situation has worsened in the last couple of years.
"There is no particular time for water supply. We get water after a gap of 3-5 days. Often we have to call private water tankers," said Vipin Singh, a resident of ward No 1.
"More than 50 percent of the water connections are unauthorised here. We are waiting for the `Sonia Vihar` water treatment plant to supply water for so many years," said A K Verma, Secretary of Mehrauli Resident Welfare association.
Shastri said an amount of Rs 210 crore has been sanctioned to build four underground reservoirs which will be completed by August next year.
"These reservoirs will be sufficient to supply potable water to the population of Mehrauli."
He also said five years back, DJB used to supply water to residents at a gap of 8-10 days which now has been brought down to 2-3 days.
BJP has fielded Pravesh Verma, son of former Delhi Chief Minister Sahib Singh Verma, whereas the BSP has given ticket to Surender Panwar.
Aam Aadmi Party`s Narender Sejwal, who has resorted to door-to-door campaign, claimed a "wave of change" is blowing across the city and exuded confidence of his victory. A total of eight candidates are in the fray.
The total number of voters in the constituency is 1.44 lakh out of which 80,791 are men and 63,472 women.
In 2008 polls, Shastri had polled 21,740 votes against 20,632 votes of BJP`s Sher Singh Dagar. Shastri had first won from Malviya Nagar constituency in 2003.
BJP candidate Verma, while accusing the Congress of doing nothing for the area, said, if voted to power, he will ensure an effective water distribution system besides addressing other pressing issues.
