Thane: Bhiwandi MLA Rais Shaikh seeks removal of water supply co's officer

Thane: Bhiwandi MLA Rais Shaikh has requested the State Government to investigate the appointment of the officers of the STEM Water and Infrastructure Company Pvt Ltd which supplies drinking water to the residents of Bhiwandi-Nizampur Municipal Corporation (BNMC). The residents of Bhiwandi are receiving water supply with low pressure and the authorities of the STEM are not taking any action to solve the issue, alleged by Mr Shaikh.

Mr Saikh, a Samajwadi Party MLA, said, "For the last six months, the residents are facing issues with water due to very low pressure. When asked, STEM authorities did not give any proper reply. As per the information received, the maintenance of the water purification machine in the STEM has not been carried out for many years and many machines are out of order."

Mr Shaikh, in his complaint to the BNMC, has also alleged that engineers of STEM, Mahesh Bhoye and Avantika Shinde, have no experience with water treatment plants and the general manager Anil Chaudhary and Managing Director Sanket Gharat have no control over them. Mr Shaikh added that when inquired about the maintenance and repair work of the pump, it was learned that despite paying the water bills of Rs3.5 crore last month by the Bhiwandi citizens, only the work of collecting bills is being done but no initiatives have been taken by the STEM authorities to solve the water woes.

Meanwhile, Mr Shaikh alleged that Mr Gharat has no qualification for the post, and due to his inexperience, the STEM company is suffering losses and the people of Bhiwandi have to bear the brunt of the disrupted water supply. He demanded that the appointment of Mr Gharat should be investigated and he should be sacked.