(a) the consultants could not stabilize their water measures during the water audit
(b) settlers (also called slum dwellers) opposed the pilot project, both through
their daily practices and by insisting that water was and should remain a
public good.
In a way, people are uneasy about change. When they have become accustomed
to certain habits, such as fighting collectively to obtain water, or getting the help of
the councilors and administrators, to attend to their water problems, it is very
difficult to understand and accept that privatization would be better, if at all.
Rodrigues is an island of some 35,000 inhabitants, over an area of 108 km
2 . There
is a similar situation, where, for various reasons, the water supply network has
evolved in a haphazard manner. There is no regular parcelling of land, and houses
are very often built in a scattered manner. For quite a long time, people were
accustomed to fetching water from river or local sources or rain water harvesting
from the house roof. When funds were received for pipe laying, given the scattered
nature of housing, (and probably, the urgency), all pipes have been laid over the
ground, either along roads (rarely), or across hills and valleys. The only place where
pipes are underground is Port Mathurin, the capital, where administration started.
With local practices and with scarce resources in mind, the operation of the network
has evolved in giving water as per a schedule, similar to that in Mumbai. Consider
the case of a service reservoir with five pipes, going in five directions. With the
reservoir full, and four outlets closed, the inspector will walk along the pipe number
1 (valve opened) and inform all residents along this line that the valve is open and
water should be available at their premises. During this time, the residents are busy
collecting water, or rather filling their water tanks. Some not so rich people have
boasted of their underground tanks having a capacity exceeding 9m
3 (9000 litres!).
And they have pumps to boost the water towards the tank on the roof. By afternoon,
the service reservoir, being empty, the inspector will close the valve. With all outlets
now closed, the service reservoir starts filling up so that valve number 2 may be
opened after 1–2 days, and so on.
In Rodrigues, the inhabitants claim that they receive water once a week or even
once every 3 weeks. The fact remains that, up to now, nobody has died through lack
of water. Although nobody has received a 24/7 water supply from the authorities,
each household has received a stock of water (stored in their tanks) to last them
before the next scheduled valve operation. With the pump arrangement, there is
probably a 24/7 running water supply within the house.
Imagine some person needing a coke bottle every day. He can go to the shop
every day to buy one bottle, or he can buy a whole crate (of 30 bottles) for the month,
at one go. Having become accustomed or made arrangements to buy a whole crate
every month, he might be reluctant to opt for the daily purchase.
Given the topography, with the number of service reservoirs in Rodrigues, each
reservoir serves between 200 and 2000 people, at most. Thus, it has been suggested
to the engineer to switch over to daily supplies to everybody, albeit, through a roster.
At least, to try the system on a small local network, and keep a water tanker in
standby mode, in case of some problem. Similarly, individual water meters were
204
7 Economic and Social Aspects of Infrastructure
(b) settlers (also called slum dwellers) opposed the pilot project, both through
their daily practices and by insisting that water was and should remain a
public good.
In a way, people are uneasy about change. When they have become accustomed
to certain habits, such as fighting collectively to obtain water, or getting the help of
the councilors and administrators, to attend to their water problems, it is very
difficult to understand and accept that privatization would be better, if at all.
Rodrigues is an island of some 35,000 inhabitants, over an area of 108 km
2 . There
is a similar situation, where, for various reasons, the water supply network has
evolved in a haphazard manner. There is no regular parcelling of land, and houses
are very often built in a scattered manner. For quite a long time, people were
accustomed to fetching water from river or local sources or rain water harvesting
from the house roof. When funds were received for pipe laying, given the scattered
nature of housing, (and probably, the urgency), all pipes have been laid over the
ground, either along roads (rarely), or across hills and valleys. The only place where
pipes are underground is Port Mathurin, the capital, where administration started.
With local practices and with scarce resources in mind, the operation of the network
has evolved in giving water as per a schedule, similar to that in Mumbai. Consider
the case of a service reservoir with five pipes, going in five directions. With the
reservoir full, and four outlets closed, the inspector will walk along the pipe number
1 (valve opened) and inform all residents along this line that the valve is open and
water should be available at their premises. During this time, the residents are busy
collecting water, or rather filling their water tanks. Some not so rich people have
boasted of their underground tanks having a capacity exceeding 9m
3 (9000 litres!).
And they have pumps to boost the water towards the tank on the roof. By afternoon,
the service reservoir, being empty, the inspector will close the valve. With all outlets
now closed, the service reservoir starts filling up so that valve number 2 may be
opened after 1–2 days, and so on.
In Rodrigues, the inhabitants claim that they receive water once a week or even
once every 3 weeks. The fact remains that, up to now, nobody has died through lack
of water. Although nobody has received a 24/7 water supply from the authorities,
each household has received a stock of water (stored in their tanks) to last them
before the next scheduled valve operation. With the pump arrangement, there is
probably a 24/7 running water supply within the house.
Imagine some person needing a coke bottle every day. He can go to the shop
every day to buy one bottle, or he can buy a whole crate (of 30 bottles) for the month,
at one go. Having become accustomed or made arrangements to buy a whole crate
every month, he might be reluctant to opt for the daily purchase.
Given the topography, with the number of service reservoirs in Rodrigues, each
reservoir serves between 200 and 2000 people, at most. Thus, it has been suggested
to the engineer to switch over to daily supplies to everybody, albeit, through a roster.
At least, to try the system on a small local network, and keep a water tanker in
standby mode, in case of some problem. Similarly, individual water meters were
204
7 Economic and Social Aspects of Infrastructure