‘Get your own water or face cuts’

Bulk and industrial users of water — malls, multiplexes, cinema halls and five star hotels in Mumbai — will have to find their own water sources by February 2010, reports HT Correspondent.

Bulk and industrial users of water — malls, multiplexes, cinema halls and five star hotels in Mumbai — will have to find their own water sources by February 2010.

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The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has given these commercial establishments an ultimatum to explore borewells for water supply or face more water cuts.

“We have instructed all commercial consumers who use more than one lakh litres of water daily to develop alternative sources of water because after February 2010, it will be difficult to supply water to bulk users. Our main priority will be residential consumers,” Additional Municipal Commissioner Anil Diggikar said.

The BMC has already imposed a 30 per cent cut on commercial users. “We are already facing a shortfall of 2.30 lakh litres. The situation might worsen during summer,” said Diggikar.

Bulk users like the Royal Western India Turf Club and Wellington Club have asked BMC to supply treated water for non-potable use.

A private firm has approached the civic body to draw waste water directly from the Ghatkopar and Versova treatment plants and supply it to private companies.

A committee chaired by the mayor and comprising corporators and administrative representatives will be formed to take measures to improve water supply.

Corporators oppose 100 % zone-wise cuts

Corporators have opposed BMC’s proposal to impose a 100 per cent zone-wise water cuts once a week.

BMC currently supplies about 3,000 million litres of water every day to 108 zones in Mumbai at different times. BMC proposed to rearrange these zones into seven broad zones — two in the Island city, two in the eastern suburbs and three in the western suburbs — and block water supply in one of the zones once a week.

Mayor Shraddha Jadhav, who had called for the meeting with the group leaders to discuss the water crisis, said, “The group leaders have proposed diverting water used to generate power at the Khopoli Tata power plant to Bhatsa.”