14ymedio, Havana, 13 July 2023 — Some residents of the municipality of Playa in Havana have spent five consecutive days without water, this newspaper has learned. The suspension of the service adds to the long list of breakdowns suffered by the entire capital, and the government assures that work is being done to offer solutions.
“We have been without water for five days, and not even a single watertruck has made an appearance,” said one of the residents, who attributes the suspension of the water supply cycle to a break in the pump due to lightning. “After almost a week, we have almost no water left in the tank.”
The resident, owner of a private home full of Spanish tourists staying until the weekend, regrets that the restoration of the service will take between twenty days and a month, since the part that the pump needs is not available in the country and its replacement “is coming by boat.”
The discomfort of the residents of Playa, in the absence of ways to solve the water supply problem, contradicts the reports offered this Wednesday by the official media Granma, which says that the Aguas de La Habana Company has already taken charge of the situation.
“Extending the cycles” of water supply, spacing its distribution and temporarily alleviating the shortage with tanker trucks are two of the main measures adopted, the company reported.
It also recognized the poor situation of water supply services in districts such as Cerro, Plaza de la Revolución, Diez de Octubre, Centro Habana and Habana Vieja, which persists due to the deficit in the central system.
The populations west and south of Havana are recovering thanks to the installation of the necessary equipment, but the company has not been able to offer a solution to the eastern municipalities.
This insufferable situation inspired singer Luis Alberto Vicet Vives, known as “La Crema,” to upload a music video on his YouTube channel on Thursday that criticizes the deficient water and electricity services. He approached the subject matter with his usual humor, claiming that the services are stable and assuring that the hardships are not suffered by “the manager.”
Translated by Regina Anavy
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