Only 50% population pays sewerage bill in Muktsar

Admn loses Rs 9 lakh each month; outstanding amount Rs 2 cr

Residents’ complaints

• Sewage gets mixed with water as a number of supply pipes are ruptured
• Sewerage doesn't function in some parts of the town

Archit Watts
Tribune News Service

Muktsar, December 13

The Water Supply and Sanitation Department is suffering a loss of nearly Rs 10 lakh every month with only 50 per cent of the population paying the bills in the town.

With the department unable to claim the bills, the total outstanding amount was above Rs 2 crore. There were nearly 11,000 water supply connections and over 15,000 sewerage connections in the town, said department officials. A house of up to five marla has to pay Rs 100 for water supply, a 5-10 marla house Rs 105 and above 10 marla house Rs 140.

Amrik Singh, Executive Engineer, Water Supply and Sanitation Department, Muktsar (urban), said, “The overall collection from water, sewerage bills per month is nearly Rs 8-9 lakh, which is half of the total amount of bills each month. Our efforts have resulted in an increase in the collection of bills.”

He further said, “To crack down on defaulters, we have snapped some connections. We will also constitute teams to collect more bills.”

On the other hand, several local residents complain of the waterworks supplying dirty water. “The water supplied stinks. It is unfit for consumption. Since a number of supply pipes are ruptured, sewage gets mixed with the water,” said Shamsher Singh, a local resident.

Moreover, residents complained that the sewerage didn’t function in some parts of the town. Department officials said they would soon invite tenders to clean the sewerage with super-sucker machines.

Courtesy: The Tribune