Durban: Some residents in Tongaat have brought the town to a stand still after having no water for 52 days.
Rajen Pillay, a concerned resident, said his home has been without drinking water since the day of the devastating floods on April 9, which left many areas without water and billions of rand in infrastructure damaged.
Pillay said the Tongaat CBD and certain areas like Brake Village are without water.
“Residents are frustrated. We have had enough. While we know there were issues with the municipality getting to the Tongaat Water Works, that road has now become assessible, but still no work has started.
“In an area like eMdloti, that has been hit by the second floods, when I drove by yesterday, there was work being done to restore water in that area. Why is Tongaat not being prioritised?
Pillay said even though JoJo tanks were available, there was not enough.
“We need more JoJo tanks placed in certain areas.”
Pillay said the elderly were suffering the most.
“People carrying litres of water has taken a toll on them. Many live in apartments and have to walk up flights of stairs.”
According to Durban Metro police spokesperson Parbhoo Sewpersadh, they were informed of early morning protests in the Tongaat area.
“We have deployed Public Order Policing. The Watson Highway and entrance to the CBD have been affected.
Sewpersadh said residents complained of service delivery issues in the area.
He said the protests were not volatile at this stage.
In a statement on Facebook, the eThekwini Municipality said:
Arrangements to rebuild the Tongaat Water Treatment Plant are at an advanced stage. The access road to the plant is being repaired, and the repairs are at an advanced stage, although the heavy rain last weekend delayed the progress.
Procurement processes to start rebuilding the plant have been finalised, and the work will commence as soon as a contractor is appointed. In the interim, the Municipality continues to supply water through water tankers and 48 static tanks. There are also boreholes and a donated package plant which supplies non-drinking water.
IOL