BMC likely to increase water cuts in winter

A day after Congress supporters led by Nitesh Rane stormed the civic headquarters demanding a rollback of the 15 per cent water cut, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said it may increase water cuts this winter, reports Bhavika Jain.

A day after Congress supporters led by Nitesh Rane stormed the civic headquarters demanding a rollback of the 15 per cent water cut, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said it may increase water cuts this winter.

HT Image

Capitalising on the decrease in demand during winter the civic body is considering drawing lesser water from the dams.

The BMC said it had no choice. “It is impossible to roll back the water cut,” Deputy Municipal Commissioner, Dinesh Gondalia. “We will try to supply less water when winter sets in because of reduced demand. It will help conserve water for the summers.”

The city is facing a 15 per cent water cut due to poor monsoons. It is drawing only 2,950 million litres of water daily (MLD) against the usual 3,400 MLD.

The most hit are the hilly areas because pumping water to areas located on a height is difficult. “The situation in areas like Malabar Hill, Cuffe Parade and Versova is critical due to water being supplied at low pressure,” said a senior municipal officer requesting anonymity because he is not authorised to speak to the media.

The city gets water from six lakes. The total stock in these lakes is only 8.11 lakh million litres this year compared to 10.49 lakh million litres last year.

Civic chief Swadheen Kshatriya who took charge on Friday said that tiding over the water crisis was high on his priority list. “We are looking at various possibilities. We will study the situation and see what can be done to ensure sufficient water till July 15,” he said.

Meanwhile water levels in the Master Balance Reservoirs at Bhandup and Yewai are dipping gradually reducing water pressure.