Boil water before drinking: Civic body's advice to Mumbaikars amid heavy rains

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation said the Bhandup water purification complex will resume operation in a few hours but the filtration process would take time to restart.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation on Sunday has asked citizens to boil water before drinking as heavy rains stopped the Bhandup water purification complex, which is one of the major sites of water supply to the city. The torrential rain that intensified from Saturday night flooded the water purification complex on Sunday, following which the civic body shut the plants down.

Commuters wade through a waterlogged street after heavy rain at Dadar in Mumbai on Sunday, (PTI)

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation said that the plants will be resumed in a few hours as water recedes from the station, but the filtration process will take time to be up and running. Hence, boiling the water will be the best precaution as of now.

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“Efforts are being taken to restore Mumbai’s water supply by restarting the water purification system in the complex, which may take up to a few hours. After water supply is restored, the administration appeals Mumbaikars to boil water before drinking,” BMC said in a statement. After the water purification plant is restarted, the entire system will be cleaned.

The city has been receiving record rainfall since Saturday night which led to massive flooding in almost every part of the city. A BMC statement said Vihar Lake, with a storage capacity of 27,698 million litres, has started overflowing following the overnight rain. Vihar lake is the smallest of the water bodies that are part of the supply mechanism to the metropolis, PTI reported.