Kalyan, Dombivli residents brace for water cut on Tuesday

Kalyan The new year started on a bad note for Kalyan and Dombivli residents. They will face water cuts on Tuesday as Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC)

Kalyan The new year started on a bad note for Kalyan and Dombivli residents. They will face water cuts on Tuesday as Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) has declared a shutdown on three water supply plants.

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The notice issued by the civic body says the water department has planned to take up some repair and maintenance work on January 7 at the Mohili, Netivli and Barave water treatment plants. Water supply will shut from 8am to 8pm. Residents of Kalyan and Dombivli will not get water supply during this period.

“This is a routine repair work. We alert residents about it and ask them to store adequate water before the cut is imposed,” said Rajiv Pathak, executive engineer, water department, KDMC.

Officials of water department said water level of Ulhas river dipped on Thursday, which led to a supply shortage in Ulhasnagar and eastern part of Kalyan city. On Friday, the water level increased and supply was normal.

Ulhasnagar, Ambernath, Badlpaur, Kalyan, Thane and Navi Mumbai get water supply from Ulhas river. Every January, the water level of the river reduces which leads to water shortage in most of these cities.

Ulhas river gets water from Barvi and Andra dam. Barvi dam officials said the release of water from the dam was reduced by the irrigation department.

“Water released from the dam has been reduced based on directions from irrigation department. This is done to ensure there is adequate water till monsoon,” said JC Borse, executive engineer, Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation, Barvi dam.

Water department officials said with the reduction in water level, machineries that lift water at treatment plants get damaged. Hence the repair work is required at treatment plants. Activists said despite adequate rainfall, water cuts are imposed since January. They blamed MIDC and irrigation department for improper planning.

“MIDC officials claimed water level has reduced by 1.5 metres at Mohane bund on Thursday. If this is the situation in January, there is a reason to worry,” said Ravindra Lingayat, founder of Ulhas River Bachao Kruti Samiti.

Activists also blamed anti-social elements. “Tanker mafia in several parts of Ulhasnagar and Kalyan steal water from the river and the authorities have not done anything about it. Also, there is a lot of construction work around the river premises, for which water is used. There is no monitoring of such activities,” added Lingayat.

KDMC lifts 150mld of water from Mohane pumping station, and supplies it to the eastern and western parts of Kalyan.