AURANGABAD: Water works staff was subjected to assaults at three different sites in the corporation limits on Thursday, as Aurangabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) failed to maintain its regular schedule of supply . Residents, starved of water after playing Holi , were irate. On Friday, corporation staff stormed the Babasaheb Ambedkar Research Centre where the municipal commissioner was sitting on protest against the incidents of assault.Municipal commissioner Nipun Vinayak called police commissioner Chiranjeev Prasad seeking registration of offence in the incidents and action against the guilty. Incidentally, water supply was affected in many areas of the city over the last week. AMC supplies water once in five days or six days in different wards of the city. This schedule was disturbed even further and greater delay was caused. Not only was the gap even longer, even in areas where water was supplied it was flowing at low pressure, leaving many residents deprived.It was Holi on Thursday and there was need for more abundant supply of water once people playing Holi needed to wash off the colours. The delay and low pressure of water left residents fuming. Three staffers one each at Kranti Chowk, Hanuman Tekdi and Shagunj elevated storage reservoirs (ESRs) were beaten up by mobs asking for regular water supply. Water works staffers suffered minor injuries.Union leader Krushna Bankar said an incident of this sort occurred also on March 3 at Mukundwadi ESR. “Six months ago, Zone 3 sectional engineer Arun Shekhuji More was assaulted after he objected to an illegal water connection. More’s left leg was fractured. He is still bedridden,” Bankar said. He added that anti-social elements use several ESRs like Jubilee Park ESR for alcohol consumption and playing cards.The assurance of installing CCTV cameras on ESRs has not been adhered to by the AMC administration, he said. “Over the next few months, as summer progresses, water supply situation will worsen and linemen and staff at ESRs are vulnerable to attacks,” the union leader said.There are 140 linemen serving the city. Complaints in one of the four incidents have been filed. The remaining complaints are expected to be filed on Saturday.Nipun Vinayak held a review meeting of incidents on Friday morning. “We are deploying ex-servicemen on ESRs by Monday. I have coordinated with the police commissioner to ensure patrol by beat marshals near sensitive ESRs,” he said. AMC administration said it would soon begin to install CCTVs at sensitive ESRs.Meanwhile, a staff representative appealed to residents to be reasonable: “It is not the fault of linemen if water is not being supplied from the main reservoir. People should be considerate; linemen are doing their job to the best of their ability.”

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