Water woes: Upper Vaitarna, Bhatsa come to BMC’s rescue

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) can withdraw water from Bhatsa and Upper Vaitarna in case there is delay in arrival of monsoon in catchment areas of lakes that supply water to the city. The civic body has received permission from the state government to withdraw 70 million litre and 100 million litre water from these two sources.

With the water level of the lake dipping three years low, the civic body is worrying to meet demand till the arrival of monsoon in June second week. The current water level that can be used is just 32 per cent of its total capacity.
 
According to official from the hydraulic engineering department of BMC, they have received assurance from the state government to withdraw additional water from Bhatsa and Upper Vaitarna.“If the monsoon arrives on time, we will have sufficient water in stock to meet daily needs,” said the official.

The scanty rainfall during month of September-October last year, forced the BMC to implement a water cut by 10 per cent in the city mid-November. The BMC received flak from the opposition and citizens for water cut during winters. However, senior civic officials claimed that timely water cut helped them to preserve water for summer. “Despite the water level in lakes have dipped, there will be no further cut,” said the official.

However, any delay in arrival of monsoon will certainly be a reason to worry for Mumbaikars. According to hydraulic engineering department, for the last 10 years, the city has received an average of 1,00,000 million litres water in June itself. “If we get this amount of water in catchment areas, there will be no issue,” added the official.