Wary of a situation similar to last year arising again, when the delayed monsoon had left city administrators worried as reservoir levels receded, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has said it is going slow with the plan to have 24X7 water supply in areas it was supposed to extend it to this year.
The civic body claims that at present, it supplies round-the -clock water supply to the T Ward that consists Mulund, Bhandup (E) and Vikhroli (E). The corporation had declared that it would extend the service to Ghatkopar’s Pant Nagar area too during the upcoming monsoon.
However, there is not much of a difference between water levels reported this time of last year and now. Left with the task of ensuring there is adequate water stocked till the end of July, the civic body has decided to go slow with the 24X7 water supply plan for now.
As on March 15, useful content of water available across the seven reservoirs that supply water to Mumbai was 5,24,527 MLD as against last year’s 5,02,715 MLD.
“Supply demands increase during the months of April and May. So, there is need to manage the supply requirements accordingly.
Considering it, we are chalking out ways to provide water until July 30. This is because we are expecting a delayed monsoon like it was in 2012. The decision to provide 24X7 supply to new areas will be taken after the monsoons this year,” said a senior official from BMC’s hydraulic engineering department, requesting anonymity.
He added that places already receiving 24X7 water supply will continue receiving it.
In addition to this, the corporation plans to start work on its old water distribution improvement programme (WDIP) from October this year.
As part of the same, H West ward (covering busy suburbs like Bandra) will receive round -the-clock water supply.
“We plan to expand the 24X7 supply to areas with less congestion and plain stretches. This will also help us study flow and consumption patterns of connection holders and pressure management before extending the service to other areas,” another official informed.
@dna.eknath
