Azra Hoosen | ah@radioislam.co.za
24th January 2024 | 11:00 CAT
2 Min read

Frustrated residents in Verulam protested on Monday, demanding immediate restoration of the water supply to their homes.

The residents affected by the water supply outage staged a protest and blocked the R102 between Phoenix and Verulam, blocking roads with burning trees and tires.

Residents of Phoenix and oThongathi have also been facing severe water outages due to infrastructure challenges.

Roshan Lil-Ruthan, spokesperson of the area’s water crisis committee, told Radio Islam, about 2 years ago they noticed Verulam and surrounding suburbs often struggled with water issues.

“The 2021 floods worsened the already suffering infrastructure. Much damage was done but it was superficially repaired, thus the maintenance aspect is not being kept to a schedule,” said Lil-Ruthan.

The municipality reported widespread damage to water and sanitation infrastructure due to heavy rains, causing water outages in some communities in the south and north regions.

“150,000 residents regularly find no water in their taps, going up to ten consecutive days without a drop of water. Some areas have experienced 90 days without water. This includes low-cost housing and informal settlements. The townships were built without sufficient reserves or storage to ensure water access, even for those near water towers,” said Lil-Ruthan.

The committee investigated the lack of water and discovered that the reservoir was not channeling enough water.

Lil-Ruthan found that the bulk water allocation meant for Verulam is not being delivered, and the municipality has stated that this is due to malicious damage inflicted on the water ducts by criminal elements. As a result of these setbacks, the entire system is experiencing a ripple effect.

The eThekwini management made promises to provide updates, communicate often, and have standby teams in case of burst pipes. However, Lil-Ruthan claims that these promises were never fulfilled despite their efforts to escalate the issue.

“We took to the streets to protest because we need the attention of the Government and we need the Municipality to immediately resolve the matter and ensure that services are fully restored to the communities affected, otherwise we will be back on the streets protesting,” warned Lil-Ruthan.

Municipal spokesperson Gugu Sisilana claims that the Water and Sanitation Unit of the City has created a proactive plan of action to address water supply issues that affect Verulam and its surrounding areas.

LISTEN to the full interview with Ml. Sulaimaan Ravat and Roshan Lil-Ruthan, Verulam Water Crisis Committee member, here.