Chandigarh, March 10 -- Residents of Sector 27 have raised concerns over the irregular supply of tertiary water, saying frequent pipeline repairs and prolonged disruptions have left parks, green belts and lawns in private residences without adequate watering for months. Tertiary water, which is treated wastewater used for irrigating lawns, gardens and roundabouts, was introduced by the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation a few years ago to reduce the use of potable water for horticulture. Separate pipelines were laid across several sectors, and residents with lawns were encouraged, and in many cases required, to install tertiary water connections. However, residents say the system has been plagued by frequent pipeline bursts and erratic supply. "The supply is extremely irregular. Some months we get water for just a week or two. The usual response is that the pipe has burst and is under repair," said a resident of the sector. According to residents, the issue has persisted for nearly 17-18 months, leaving resident welfare associations (RWAs) struggling to maintain parks and green belts in the sector. "Most parks depend entirely on tertiary water. During summer, plants and saplings begin to dry up because there is no water for weeks. In private houses people may somehow manage with buckets, but watering large community parks becomes extremely difficult," another resident said. Residents said the tertiary water supply briefly resumed on Holi, but lasted for only around two-and-a-half hours after nearly a month-long disruption. Apart from the supply issue, residents say they are still being billed for the service. "We are charged around Rs.200 per month, but the supply is nowhere close to being regular. It feels unfair to pay for a service that is barely available," said another resident. Residents further claim that households are penalised if they fail to use tertiary water connections despite the inconsistent supply. Local councillor Harpreet Babla has reportedly raised the issue with civic officials several times following complaints from residents. In the past 15 days alone, nearly seven to eight residents have flagged the problem, they added. Responding to the concerns, the chief engineer of the Municipal Corporation said the disruption was due to a leakage in the tertiary water pipeline. "There is a leakage problem in the pipeline supplying tertiary water to the area. Our teams are working on fixing it and the supply will be streamlined once repairs are completed," the official said....