At a time Arvind Kejriwal is focusing his Aam Aadmi Party’s pre-election campaigning on irregular supply, empty promises and inflated bills by the capital’s civic agencies, the heat for chief minister Sheila Dikshit went up a notch on Friday, as residents of a colony in Palam took their protests against lack of water supply to the streets.

Giving voice to Kejriwal’s accusations of inflated bills, the residents claimed that while there has been no supply for nearly a decade, they have been regularly receiving bills, with amounts for some as high as Rs 13,000.

With the assembly elections heat rising in tandem with the mercury, and the some 2,000 residents of Rajnagar Colony in Palam, southwest Delhi, gathered outside the DC office complex at the old terminal tax building in Kapashera to demonstrate their dry daze.

Amid chants of “hai hai, Sheila Dikshit!”, the residents said they have not received water since 2004. Claiming that the Delhi government had promised them supply in 2009, the locals said the water allocated for them was instead transferred to GMR, the company which developed and operates IGI airport nearby. “How can we receive water bills when there is no water?” colony resident Ram Manohar asked. “The government only knows how to take money from the people.”

Explaning how they manage, fellow resident Suneeta Mehra said: “We have to depend on water tankers. One tanker costs about Rs 700 but the water lasts for barely a week. We have to ration water — be it for washing, bathing, cooking or drinking. With the summers approaching, the situation will only worsen.”

Rajkumar, another resident, said whatever little water comes through the tubewells is filthy. “First, there are only four tubewells for the entire colony, and most pipes connecting the tubewells are broken,” he said. “Whatever water comes through is so salty that it’s not fit for drinking. Though we have motors at most houses here (to pump water to the water tanks), there is no point since there is hardly any supply.”

Under the umbrella of a welfare association, the residents have an ongoing case in the Public Grievances Commission and filed an RTI 15 days ago, seeking the source of the problem. “But even the RTI query was of no use,” Manohar said. “The RTI (reply) said all problems had been resolved, and in case of further problems or any ongoing issues, we should contact the Delhi Jal Board office Jhandewalan.”

The irate locals assembled outside the DC office complex on Friday led by MLA from Bijwasan Sat Prakash Rana after they learnt that the chief minister was expected at the venue to launch a new e-sub registrar. “We had protested peacefully earlier as well, but with no result. Even now, our demonstration is peaceful. The CM came out and said she will look into the situation and try and improve it,“ MLA Rana said. 

Congress MLA Praveen Rana was also with the residents, in support of their demand.