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Indian Express
3 days ago
- Health
- Indian Express
Chandigarh's Maloya residents grapple with foul water crisis
Written by : Prisha Arora Residents of Maloya Colony in Chandigarh's Economically Weaker Section (EWS) housing cluster are battling a persistent crisis of contaminated water, prompting intervention from the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), which has issued a notice to the Chandigarh Municipal Commissioner seeking a detailed report by June 27. Complaints about black, foul-smelling, and muddy water have been flooding in for weeks, with multiple families reporting illness, especially among children, due to consuming the supplied water. Santosh Kumar, 41, a factory labourer who lives with eight family members, described the water as 'completely black and muddy'. 'It smelled terrible. Even after boiling it, my children had been ill for nearly a week,' he said. 'Everyone in the house fell sick — my son had severe stomach problems. We still face skin issues like itching near the eyes.' Though he considered purchasing an RO filter, he said he had to redirect his savings toward his sister's upcoming wedding. 'There was some leakage, but even after they said it was fixed, the water didn't improve.' Ajit Kumar, a 35-year-old driver, said mornings in his home begin with a half-hour of flushing muddy water from the taps. 'Every morning at 6, the water starts coming. For the first half hour, it's muddy and smells horrible. We have to leave the tap running to flush it out, paani bohot barbaad hota hai,' he said. 'I told Mr. Dilawar and he said he'd inform someone, but nothing happened.' Ram Minister, 36, who lives with nine family members, said the water issues began around April 20. 'First, I got a fever and stomach issues. Then my wife and kids fell sick. We had no choice but to boil water. The Pradhan helped us and got the leakage fixed. Now, it's a little better, but the past month was very difficult.' A 45-year-old rickshaw puller, who requested anonymity, said both he and his wife fell seriously ill due to the contaminated supply. 'I try to buy Bisleri for my children, but it's too expensive. I can't afford RO or bottled water. Har insaan ko paani peene ka adhikaar hai. We are not even getting that,' he said. 'Despite repeated complaints, the problem continues. For 45 to 60 minutes every morning, we have to keep the tap open. Sometimes it improves, but then it turns muddy again.' Rajinder Kumar, 39, a small business owner living with six family members, said the situation has improved slightly. 'For the past five–seven days, the water has been cleaner. But it still turns muddy in the mornings. My children had fallen sick earlier, and we had no option but to boil the water before drinking.' Councillor Nirmala Devi of Ward 28 (Maloya), who is also the spokesperson for the Chandigarh Congress, was unavailable for comment. Her husband Dilawar, speaking on her behalf, said the water supply system had not yet been fully handed over to the Municipal Corporation. 'The implementation is still pending,' he said. 'We visited the booster and found clean water there. At the Housing Board, they said it's the MC's job. The MC said the Housing Board should handle it. Eventually, both chief engineers joined me, and we discovered a leakage in the pipeline.' Officials claim that the problem is now restricted to two–three buildings out of 13–14, and some repair work has been initiated. However, the absence of clear accountability has only deepened the frustration of residents. With the NHRC now directly involved, pressure is mounting on the authorities to implement a long-term, coordinated solution. Until then, the residents of Maloya continue to grapple with a basic, unmet necessity — the right to clean drinking water. (The writer is an intern with The Indian Express)
Time of India
3 days ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Dilawar cracks down on illegal power connections
1 2 Kota: State's education and Panchayati Raj Minister Madan Dilawar organised neighbourhood meetings in Suket area of his constituency on Sunday. During a meeting held in Surliwal's alley, local residents complained about a person named Kallu providing illegal electricity connections. Residents reported that Kallu had laid pipes alongside the water pipeline to provide illegal electricity connections and was collecting Rs 500 per month from each household. Approximately 700 homes had illegal connections. Minister Dilawar immediately instructed the Superintendent Engineer of Electricity, Vishnu Dutt Lodha, to visit the site with a police team and take action. Following the instructions, the engineer and his team disconnected the illegal connections and seized the cables. Meanwhile, minister Dilawar himself arrived at the site. Residents showed him the illegal electricity connections running into homes through underground pipelines. The minister immediately summoned Suket Police Station Officer Chhotu Lal to file an FIR against the accused Kallu alias Jalaluddin and his accomplice. He ordered the recovery of dues from the accused, including interest, from the time electricity supply began in Suket. Afterward, minister Dilawar inspected Kumhar neighbourhood, where an encroachment issue on the old building of the Government Higher Secondary School Suket was found. The minister, along with Sub-Divisional Officer Neeta Vasita, Municipal Executive Officer Hemendra Sankhla, and Station Officer Chhotu Lal, visited the school to inspect the encroachment. Cattle were found tied in the staff room, and other rooms were locked. The minister instructed the Sub-Divisional Officer to clear the entire school building of encroachments, appoint a receiver, and prepare proposals for operating an Anganwadi centre. Seeing encroachment on the road with stones, Minister Dilawar got angry and immediately ordered the Municipal Executive Officer of Suket to remove the encroachment using a JCB. The Chief Executive Officer promptly arranged for a JCB to clear the encroachment.
Time of India
15-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Rajasthan sets example with new cleanliness scheme and strict plastic ban enforcement in villages
Jaipur: Panchayati Raj minister Madan Dilawar said Thursday that Rajasthan has set an example for the entire country by establishing basic schedule of rates (BSR rates) to ensure cleanliness in villages. He warned that if any supplier is found stocking or selling banned plastic, the state govt will ensure strict action against them. "Tenders are being issued for cleanliness in village panchayats . For the first time in the country, tenders have been issued in Rajasthan at Basic Schedule of Rates (BSR rates)," Dilawar said, adding that an average of Rs one lakh per month is being provided to each village panchayat for regular cleaning. "As a result, cleanliness is now visible in the village panchayats," he said. Dilawar said under the Minimum Wages Act-1948, the minimum wage for cleaning work is set at Rs 285 per day for unskilled workers, Rs 297 for semi-skilled workers, and Rs 309 for skilled workers. Additional payment will be made for holidays and overtime. He said that workers will be paid double rates for working more than 8 hours and will be compensated according to the rules for working less than 8 hours. Dilawar was addressing a press conference regarding the schemes of the Swachh Bharat Mission (Rural) at the Indira Gandhi Panchayati Raj Institute. "In the coming times, rural Rajasthan will be completely clean," he added.
Time of India
02-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Centre hails Raj move for mobile schools for kids of nomadic groups
Jaipur: During the 59th general council meeting of NCERT held in Delhi, Friday, the central govt authorities praised Rajasthan govt's initiative to start mobile schools for children from nomadic communities from this academic session. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now An official release shared by the education minister's media team stated, "Union minister of state for education Jayant Chaudhary praised Rajasthan's plan for the education of children of nomadic families and directed the officials to implement it as a model across the country." Education minister Madan Dilawar, who participated in the meeting, while speaking to TOI, said, "To ensure that children from nomadic communities get formal education, mobile schools are being started by the department from this year. Children from this community suffer as their parents keep shifting bases and children have to drop out from schools." Dilawar said that officials have been instructed to identify areas with a sizeable population of the nomadic community and start a mobile school for a minimum of 15 students. "If the parents take their children with themselves to their place of work, then these mobile schools (operated out of buses) will move to that area and teach students there. Our aim is to provide education to all students across the state," added Dilawar. In the meeting, Dilawar also demanded an increase in the number of PM Shri Vidyalayas and Swami Vivekananda Model Schools in the state. The minister also demanded that the budget received by the states from the central govt under Samagra Shiksha should be allocated on time so that the projects can be completed on time. He said that other initiatives like rechecking in board examinations and preparing board exam question papers in sections with a common question paper for the whole state were also praised. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now BOX--Admission for MGGEM schools to start from May 7 Jaipur: The application window for admission into Mahatma Gandhi Govt English Medium schools will start from May 7 and will be open till June 15, announced the education department, Friday. Applicants can fill the application forms online through Shala Darpan, and the lottery for the allotment of seats will also be done online. On June 16, the list of applications received and information regarding class-wise vacancies will be displayed on the school noticeboard, and the lottery will be held on June 17. The list of students selected for admission will be displayed on the school noticeboard on June 18. The submission of documents for the admission process will start from June 19, and the session will start from July 1. An order issued by director secondary education Ashish Modi stated, "To ensure quality education in MGGEM schools, sections have been determined as per the standards of RTE." For classes 1-5, 30 students per section have been fixed, 35 students per section for class 6-8, and 60 students per section for classes 9-12.
Indian Express
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Rajasthan education dept website hacked, shows message alluding to Pahalgam, 2019 Abhinandan capture
State Education Minister Madan Dilawar said the department took 'immediate cognizance' of the incident. He said that the IT wing of the education department has been activated. As of Tuesday afternoon, the website is down, with Dilawar saying it has been temporarily shut and that recovery work is being undertaken. Education department officials said cyber security agencies have been informed about the incident and that an investigation has been initiated to find out the group responsible. The Education Minister said there is no confirmation yet regarding any sensitive information having been leaked. However, as a precaution, a comprehensive investigation of all systems is being conducted, he said. Group Captain Abhinandan Varthaman, who was then a Wing Commander, was captured by the Pakistani Army on February 27, 2019, after his MiG-21 Bison jet was shot down in a dogfight with Pakistani jets during aerial combat. Before his jet was hit, he had downed one of Pakistan's F-16 fighter jets. This came in the aftermath of the Pulwama terror attack of February 2019. After being captured, he was released on the night of March 1. He was awarded the Vir Chakra by President Ram Nath Kovind at a ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhawan in November 2021. The Vir Chakra is the third-highest Indian military honour during wartime after Param Vir Chakra and Maha Chakra.
