Thanekars get respite from steep watercuts this season

Although the political drama between Sena-BJP for the upcoming civic elections has kept Thanekars confused about who will run Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) for the next five years, at least they wouldn't have to worry about water cuts this summer. The TMC said that with enough water storage in dams, Thanekars can be guaranteed uinterrupted water supply.

"We have adequate water in our dams and there will just be 24 hour water cut weekly weekly," says Avinash Khadtale, Deputy City Engineer, Water Department, TMC.

The weekly 24 hour water cut amounts to the routine 15 per cent cut that was implemented in January and shall continue till monsoon. "We have 20 to 30 per cent more water in Baravi and Andhre dams, which does not warrant hefty cuts in water supply this time," says he.

Baravi dam has over 70.5 per cent water as compared to 44 per cent last year and Andhre dam has 50.45 per cent compared to 31 per cent last year. "Due to such low storage last year, there were 45 to 50 per cent water cuts. Thankfully, the situation is not the same this year," says he.

Most Thanekars recall the summer of 2016 with much dismay — they had to go without water supply for three to four days a week during this period. In fact, in Ulhasnagar and Ambernath, people stayed without water for 15 days to three months. This had also led to a hunt for alternate sources of water, like cleaning up of old wells, rediscovering old dams like the D-Dam in Mumbra-Parsik hills, etc. "People will remember those days and we are hoping there will be no wastage of water this year," he says in conclusion.