Adityapur Municipal Corporation (AMC) failed to keep its commitment to increase drinking water supply by tankers even as the residents are facing an acute water crisis in the Adityapur township this summer.

In its board meeting held on March 26, the AMC had passed a resolution to increase the number of water tankers from six to 22 by mid-April so as to cater to the needs of residents. But the municipal body has not increased even a single tanker though two months have lapsed.

As a result of the existing situation, each of about 40,000 out of the 50,000 households is being provided tanker water once in three days, that too in a small quantity.

Presently, the AMC has only six tankers -- two tankers having 12,000 litres capacity, one with 6,000 litres capacity and three water tankers with just 2,000 litres capacity.

Adityapur township has a population of about three lakhs, most of the households depending on the borewell. But as the underground water table has depleted considerably, almost all the borewells have gone defunct since March. About 8,000 households that have the facility of tap-water and about 1,000 households having semi-deep borewells are not affected by the drinking water crisis.

"Due to the acute water crisis, I have sent my family to my native place in Bihar and I am somehow managing by bringing drinking water in containers from a public tap in Bistupur locality of the adjoining steel city," said Ankit Kumar, a resident of Majhitola in Adityapur while talking to this website.

Like Kumar, many residents come to the Bistupur locality for morning walks and carry the drinking water from the public taps while returning home.

AMC mayor, Vinod Srivastav admitted they had passed a resolution for procuring additional 16 water tankers, but it has not been possible as yet.

"We had decided to increase the number of water tankers from six to 22 by mid-April to meet the needs of the people. The matter is in process, " said the mayor while talking to The Telegraph.

Meanwhile, Jan Kalyan Morcha, a local NGO, has demanded the AMC that it must immediately increase the water tankers keeping in view of the drinking water crisis.

"The AMC can hire the water tankers if the civic body has financial problems, but sitting on a problem as grave as the drinking water crisis is inhumane, " said Om Prakash, president of the Jan Kalyan Morcha while talking to this website.