S K GARG Vs. STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The English poet Colerige in his poem 'The Ancient Mariner' wrote "Water, water everywhere but not a drop to drink."

(2.) This is precisely the plight of the people of Allahabad which has been highlighted in this writ petition. Despite two mightly rivers, the Ganga and Yamuna, at whose confluence the city is situated, a large number of colonies and the people living there have been hardly getting even a drop of water for days on end, and even in the places where water comes, it very often trickles for hardly 15 minutes or so in a day, and people have to rush with their buckets to get some. It is indeed distressing that even after 50 years of indepedence the people of this country are not getting water to drink, what to say of food. This writ petition has been filed by an Advocate of this Court, Sri S.K. Garg, who is the Vice President of Bar Association, High Court, Allahabad as a Public Interest Litigation for suitable directions to ensure regular supply of water to the citizens of Allahabad.

(3.) In paragraph 7 of the writ petition it has been stated that for the last several years the town has been witnessing acute water shortgage, and it is indeed lamentable that a city, which is situate at the confluence of two major rivers of the country, the Ganga and the Yamuna, is reeling under agony of shortage of water supply. It has been alleged that several localities in the city such as Rani Mandi, Mutthiganj, Malviya Nagar Badshahi Mandi, Attrasuiya, Kalyani Devi, Meerapur, Allahpur, Daraganj, New Katra Mumfordganj, Rajrooppur, Preetamnagar, Gariwan Tola, Baluaghat, Mahabiran Lane, Rajendra Nagar, Sohbatiabagh, Malakraj, Bairahana, Roshanbagh, Beli Road, Civil Lines etc. are having no water supply for days together, while in other places the water hydrants remain unattended and uncapped and consequently gallons of water, which is so basic and vital for human life, goes waste. In large number of localities water supply is so low and scanty that the residents are using their own resources, namely, lifting the water by attaching the main lines with water pumps etc. It is alleged in para 8-A of the writ petition that in one of the Judges' colonies, water has not been supplied for almost 11/2 days. In para 9 of the writ petition it is alleged that the World Bank has sanctioned crores of rupees for establishing a second water works and supply of water through the rivers, but it appears that the aforesaid amount has either not been utilised for the aforesaid purpose or has been diverted for some other use. As a result of it, the work on the proposed second water works has not so far commenced. It is also alleged that even the existing water works is drying up. It is alleged that there are four large underground water tanks at Khusroobagh, out of which three are not functioning. Only one tank is functioning and that tank too is full of filth and mud which is the cause of spreading jaundice, gastro-entiritis and other epidemics. In para 11 of the writ petition it is stated that the Jal Sansthan has installed sometube wells and hand pumps for supply of water, but they are out of order. Water drips in drops from these hand pumps. A long queue is the usual scene at these handpumps and it has become routine for the public to wake up early in the morning and rush with their buckets to form the queue at the hand pump where one has to stand for hours before one can get only one bucketful of water. In para 12 of the writ petition it is alleged that most of the tubewells are out of date and out of order. The water pumps at Ashok Nagar and Rajapur are not supplying water for the last about one week. The water pump at Mayo Hall is also not functioning properly. In para 13 of the writ petition it is stated that due to lack of electricity the water pump often goes off and, as such these tube wells also go out of action.