It is operation disconnection at the Water Board. Upset at the poor response to its illegal connection regularisation scheme, the Board has decided to crack the whip in right earnest. It has set up 16 disconnection gangs, one per each circle, to go after the consumers drawing water illegally.
During the last 40 days only 495 persons have applied for regularisation of their connections. The scheme was launched with a view to offer an one time opportunity to people to regularise their connections by paying the penalty. But the lukewarm response has baffled the officials.
It is estimated that roughly 1.2 lakh illegal connections exist in the surrounding municipalities. “We are left with no option but to disconnect the supply”, said Board managing director, M. Jagadeeshwar Rao.
Members of the disconnection gangs are given red shirts for identification. Armed with crowbars and shovels they are swiftly moving to their targets and disconnecting supply. The Board has set a target of 200 disconnections per division. The last date for regularisation is September 14.
