Boduppal residents allege HMWSSB closing complaints without fixes
HYDERABAD: For more than two months, Praveen, a resident of Boduppal, Hyderabad, has struggled with low water pressure. The HMWS&SB claims that it has resolved his complaint, but nothing has changed.
His experience, he says, is not a one-off. It points to something more troubling, a grievance redressal system that closes tickets while leaving the actual problem untouched.
He filed several complaints with the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWSSB) using both the helpline and online portal. Each time, the board marked the issue as resolved within days, without sending a technician, inspecting the line, or improving the water pressure.
As Praveen describes, “Whenever I raise an issue, they open a ticket, but then close it a few days later. The staff keep closing the ticket without rectifying the issue. This cycle has been going on and on.”
To further demonstrate the issue, he has documented this pattern extensively. His WhatsApp messages to officers went unanswered. He made repeated calls to the department’s helpline and posted on social media, but saw no corrective action. He also emailed the HMWS&SB Managing Director and the department’s General Manager, but has received no response.
When officials did respond, but nothing happened on ground. One officer told Praveen the problem was on his end and suggested he get a separate connection. That officer was later transferred. The next officer inspected the site and concluded that residents used water motors, claiming the department could do little about it. Praveen disagreed. “I told them it’s the department’s job to handle such issues. We can’t fix this ourselves,” he says. Few days ago HMWS&SB officials conducted a raid and recovered some illegal motors, but this raid did not solve the main problem.
At the heart of the matter, Praveen says the real issue is outdated infrastructure. He explained “The population here has increased. These old small diameter pipes can’t handle the current demand. The authorities know this, but refuse to replace the pipes. When we ask for new pipes, they respond with intimidation and indirect threats.”
Compounding the problem, he also points to a policy that made things worse. The HMWSSB once allowed double connections per household, but has now stopped this practice and called it a mistake.
“There is no planning at all. The department knows how to manage the water supply, but refuses to act,” says Praveen. After exhausting all internal grievance channels, Distressed Praveen informed the General Manager that he would approach the consumer court if the issue continued. “We pay our bills, but still have no water. We drop everything to wait for water, only to find nothing comes from the tap. It feels like the authorities are playing games and acting with impunity,” he added.
