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Water crisis in Satwa

DUBAI - The entire area of Satwa has been without water since late afternoon on Tuesday, forcing residents of several buildings without storage tanks to depend on either bottled water or move to the homes of friends or relatives in other parts of Dubai.

Vijay Rampal, a resident of the Pearl Building at Al Dhiyafah Street who first informed Khaleej Times about the problem, said that the water supply was disrupted at around 3 pm or 4 pm on Tuesday.

"We contacted the office of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority in Satwa, and they are just giving us assurances since on Wednesday evening that the water supply would be restored in the next few hours," he said adding that the office also said that water supply was restored for about an hour's time on Tuesday night.

He said that his family, like many others in the area, have been managing water by either getting it from a nearby building which has an overhead water storage tank, or by visiting friend's place for bathing etc. "I have been in Dubai for two decades, but there was never a problem of this kind," Mr Rampal.

Another resident of the same building, Mohi Patel, said that many other parts of the emirate could have been affected but the presence of water storage tanks in most apartment buildings kept residents oblivious of the problem.

When Khaleej Times contacted the Satwa office of Dewa, a staff member said that the disruption of water supply was caused due to bursting of the main supply line in Jebel Ali.

"The supply was disrupted over 24 hours ago and has affected areas in Dubai. We are hopeful that it will be restored by midnight tonight," the personnel manning the office telephone said.

Mr Patel said that there was no way to verify the office's claim that water supply was restored on Tuesday, and added that he was personally unaware if it was true. He said that if the problem remained unsolved it would become a hygiene problem and he would move with the family to his friend's place.

Abdul Hamid, manager of a restaurant in Satwa, said that he managed the water requirements of his restaurant by getting the supply from his residence, which is nearby and has a water storage tank.

"By God's grace, our customers did not suffer much as we worked out an alternate supply for the time being. I just hope the supply is restored soon, otherwise our business will suffer," he said.

According to Rozan, a cab driver, water supply at a mosque in Jafiliya was probably disrupted as well since only one faucet was working there around midnight on Tuesday.

"Apparently the problem is concentrated in Satwa and some parts of the area along Shaikh Zayed Road - near Al Mazaya Centre. There are some buildings just behind ours here in Satwa that have a normal water supply," said Amit Johari of Satwa.

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