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Oval Maidan all set to harvest a green top
Trust Opts For Rs 7.5-Lakh Project That Will Supply 5,000-10,000 Litres Of Water
Per Hr
TIMES NEWS NETWORK
14 May 05
Mumbai: Could the dusty Oval Maidan be so well irrigated that there could be
enough water to start a water park there? It sounds like an extravagant promise.
But consultant Nandan Mungekar, appointed by the Oval Trust to install a
rainwater harvesting system in the 22-acre maidan, is quite serious.
The Rs 7.5-lakh plan, funded by a corporate donor, will see four soak pits made
in the maidan to draw rainwater into the underground water table. The existing
storm water drains which channel rain water towards the sea will now be modified
to keep the water in the maidan’s underground water table. This will create a
natural sweet water buffer to drive brackish water back towards the sea at the
western edge of the maidan.
The system means that, after the monsoon, each of the four ring wells that are
currently being inserted into the maidan will be able to produce between
5,000-10,000 litres of water per hour that will be circulated in the existing
pipes and used to keep the maidan green.
“We did have a borewell installed three years ago, but it didn’t yield
enough sweet water, and the water from it had sand in it,’’ says Nayana
Kathpalia, a trustee. Since the area faces water shortages (residents get water
for around two hours per day), creating a natural water reservoir was the best
solution, Kathpalia adds. “Even though the trust was paying for it, using
potable municipal water to irrigate a maidan didn’t seem right. This will work
out much better.’’
The work is expected to be finished, with all the wells, pits and drains
unobtrusively covered up, by the end of this month: well in time for the
approaching monsoon. Mungekar promises that the brief inconvenience for maidan
cricketers will be worthwhile. “At the moment, anyone who tries to dive for
the ball on the maidan will probably break a limb,’’ he says. “But once
the water harvesting is underway, I want it to be so lush that players can
comfortably dive on it.’’
Although former Mumbai Cricket Association secretary Nadeem Memon worries the
system could prove expensive to maintain, Nari Contractor, a former Indian
cricket captain and a veteran of matches on the Oval says, “If this makes the
maidan greener then everyone will be very happy.’’
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