Summer Onset Spurs Water Woes
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.