Black water continued to flow from taps in Sector 19 homes on Friday
Noida: After complaints of dirty water supply over the past two days from sectors 19, 47 and 20, residents of Sector 51 also flagged a similar problem in the A and B blocks on Friday. In Sector 19, many households continued to receive blackish water for the third straight day.
More than 10,000 residents across these sectors have been affected and are being forced to buy potable water for daily use. Residents demanded immediate inspection of water supply lines and threatened to boycott payment of annual water bills.“Immediate flushing is required in Sector 51, blocks A and B, as very muddy, dirty and unusable water is supplied in the sector,” said Anita Joshi, RWA president of blocks A and B in Sector 51.Mohinder Singh, RWA general secretary from Sector 40, echoed these concerns, requesting an inspection and flushing of water supply lines after residents reported receiving very dirty and smelly water.In Sector 19, RWA president RC Gupta sent a complaint to the executive engineer of the water department, Noida Authority, on Friday. “The water is highly polluted, unfit for drinking, and posing a significant health risk, particularly to vulnerable populations, and urged immediate action to inspect and rectify the contamination source,” he said, adding that he fears an Indore-like incident could occur here.
During Dec 2025 to Jan 2026, Indore faced a severe water contamination crisis where sewage mixed with tap water, resulting in at least 22 deaths and hundreds of hospitalisations due to severe diarrhoea and cholera in the Bhagirathpura area.The ongoing crisis poses a serious risk of waterborne diseases, with residents already reporting issues like skin and eye irritation. A visit from a team of Noida Authority engineers, who inspected the area, did not lead to any solution on the ground, and the supply of clean water is yet to be restored.RP Singh, deputy general manager of the water department, told TOI that continuous flushing is being carried out to address scaling of water pipelines due to excessive heat.“In summer, due to temperature changes, scaling in water distribution lines occurs. The only remedy for this is proper flushing of these pipelines, which has been done for the past five days. Checking and flushing are in progress, and also wherever complaints are reported,” Singh said, adding that such flushing is required only when there are excessive temperature variations and heat levels.
Residents are threatening to stop paying water bills if the situation persists
As the problem persists, residents are threatening to boycott payment of annual water bills.“We are ready to escalate the matter by boycotting paying the water bills if the Authority fails to address the issue,” said a resident of Sector 19.KC Joshi, another Sector 19 resident, called the contaminated water ‘poisonous’ and demanded strict action against those responsible for the poor water quality. “If this water accidentally reaches someone’s stomach, survival could be difficult,” Joshi said.Gupta urged officials to bring on outside expertise to address the recurring issues. “Even after our repeated requests, they are not taking the help of some experts from outside agencies like WAPCOS,” he said.WAPCOS, earlier known as Water and Power Consultancy Services Limited, is an Indian consultancy service provider under the ownership of the Indian govt and administrative control of the Ministry of Jal Shakti.The situation begs the question: How can a high-tech city like Noida fail to supply clean drinking water? While the Authority is being questioned, with residents demanding immediate and effective solutions to rectify the ongoing water contamination issue, sweltering heat exacerbates the problem as residents are forced to buy potable water from the market.“How long does the Authority expect us to spend purchasing water for daily needs? Isn’t water a fundamental right of a citizen?” asked BB Majumdar, a resident of C block in Sector 19.
