Summer onset spurs water woes
BMC promises an additional 300 million litres daily by this June
Sandeep Ashar
The onset of what promises to be a simmering summer has aggravated water
concerns for Mumbaikars. The municipal body, BMC, responsible for water
supply in the city came in for some sharp criticism on Tuesday from
councillors of all parties at the Standing Committee meeting on Tuesday.
Raising the point of order in the BMC, Shiv Sena’s Bhandup Councillor Ramesh
Korgaonkar observed that the despite the proximity to the Tansa and Vihar
lakes and Bhandup filtration plant, pressure of water supplied to the
Bhandup residents was very low. Areas like Sai Hill, Sai Vihar, Krantinagar,
Nardasnagar, Shivaji Nagar etc, he said, received scanty water supply. Shiv
Sena Councillor Vishwanath Mhadeshwar remarked that the situation was no
different in parts of Western suburbs. Corporators also claimed to have
received complaints of water scarcity from parts of Andheri, Kurla and
Malad.
Criticising the administration for shoddy distribution of water, Standing
Committee Chairman Ravindra Waikar asked Additional Municipal Commissioner
Manu Kumar Srivastava to address the water woes immediately.
Additional water in June: Srivastava assured the corporators that by the
first week of June, an additional 300 million litres daily (mld) will be
supplied to Mumbai. He said, “The water will be made available by tapping
the non-irritable potential of Bhatsa Lake in Thane district for a temporary
period, till the completion of the Middle Vaitarna Project in 2011 – the
project will bring an additional 455 mld. The tapped water will be treated
at the under-construction pumping station and filtration plant at Pise
Panjrapur, which was slated to be completed by May.” The state government
has allowed the civic body to tap the water.
Water leakage: Meanwhile, even as the Corporators were discussing water
scarcity, parts in Andheri’s Lokhandwala, Four Bungalows and Seven Bungalows
went waterless. Ashok Nagar, a Lokhandwala resident, said, “We did not
receive water for the entire day.” Civic officials said the problem was
owing to repair work undertaken at a leakage point at the water supply
pipeline at the suburb’s Mahakali Caves site.