Verulam residents protest over water outages

Spokesperson Parboo Sewpersad says about 200 people have blocked the road at the Ottawa intersection. 

The Public Order Policing unit has been dispatched. 

"Residents are complaining about service delivery, electricity and water issues. Currently, the scene is active, the roadway is closed. Alternative routes are the N2 and the old Ottawa Road."  

Meanwhile, irate Verulam residents are threatening to take to the streets over constant water supply problems in the area. 

They say water disconnections have been an ongoing issue - and existed long before last month's floods. 

READ: Tongaat residents going on two weeks without water

Virosha Hemraj has been living in the area for seven years. 

She says the situation's become dire. 

"We are paying our bills every month. We are cut off of water most of the month and we still have to pay these hefty bills and we have old residents, senior citizens in the area and no tankers are able to come out to them. 

"We had two instances where tankers were sent out, but they were hijacked. That's how people were so desperate for this water." 

Hemraj says they've become desperate. 

"The way forward would be to draw attention to this matter and hopefully solve it once and for all. Water is a basic human right, its a need. There is no compromise on this."