There are unscheduled power cuts, particularly in southern sectors, low voltage at peak hours and frequent tripping of electricity. As for water, the taps on the top stories are absolutely dry or at best down to a trickle in the morning and evening hours. The afternoon supply has been discontinued.

A group of residents staying in the old Manimajra area hire a rehra to fetch drums of water from a distance of about a kilometre. Even Chandigarh sector residents are feeling the pinch. A Sector 29 resident starts lugging up water from the ground floor at 5 a.m. Not all areas are affected though. Said a journalist staying in Sector 7: "Since we are in the VIP sector, we are comfortable.

"The official response is hardly comforting. The Municipal Corporation has assured the city that the water supply is going to be increased. The Administration also asserts that measures are being taken to avoid power cuts, trippings, low voltage et al. But, privately, they all admit that things will not improve till rains come in. Meanwhile, complaints of inadequate water supply and power position pour in from various parts of the city.

Officials explain the water shortage to the net availability of water in the city, which is 57 million gallons per day (MGD), while the requirement is 95 MGD. This leaves a shortfall of 38 MGD, which rises to 50 per cent during the peak summer time.

Officials admit that the expected increase in water supply -- as stated by the Mayor of the Municipal Corporation at a press conference last week -- could take three to four years. Work will begin on the fourth phase of the Kajauli water works soon, which is likely to be commissioned after four years and will add 20 MGD of supply to the total availability. Corporation officials admit that this is short of the total requirement even this year.

Officials also suggest that in this light, the Corporation may think of upgrading the capacity of this project from 20 MGD to about 60 MGD. Inquiries reveal that for this purpose, MC will have to approach the Planning Commission for permission in this regard, since more funds will be required for the purpose.

The power situation has residents screaming. "The trippings are very frequent this year. The tubelights do not switch on at all because of the voltage being very low," says Lalit Kumar, a resident of Sector 29.

P.C. Sood, a resident of Sector 44, also complains of constant fluctuation and power supply being disrupted several times during the day and even night. "If the streetlights are turned on at 7.30 p.m. instead of 6 p.m. and turned off at about 5 a.m. instead of 6 a.m., this wastage of power can be avoided and put to better use," he suggests.

Residents add that the situation on the water front was better last year. The official explanation: "The highest daily requirement last year was 31.5 lakh units which was recorded in July. This year, the figure has already gone up to 32 lakh units per day in May itself and the demand is expected to go higher."

The tripping and the low voltage, add officials, is caused by the overloading of the Dhulkot circuit -- one of the sources of power supply to Chandigarh. "To deal with the situation, we have restricted the power supply to a major industrial unit to about 10 to 12 hours per day only, instead of the round-the-clock supply being extended to it. This measure has been taken for about 15 days and the situation is expected to improve with this," highlighted the official.