LUCKNOW, May 2 -- The Jalkal department has finally woken up from its slumber following repeated complaints by residents against a private firm responsible for operating and managing the Aishbagh water treatment plant. Due to alleged negligence on the part of the firm, over 12 lakh residents dependent on this plant had to drink dirty water for about six months despite multiple complaints to the department.

However, the Jalkal department took over the Aishbagh plant on Thursday after getting no response to the repeated notices sent to the private agency over the past six months.

As per Jalkal department norms, cleaning is mandated every two to three days to ensure safe drinking water, but the agency in question failed to conduct routine ...