Lake levels recede, supply may be hit

With the water levels in the six lakes supplying water to the city receding by 64,674 million litres (usable content) as on Wednesday, the 24X7 water supply to the city likely to take a hit.

During the standing committee meeting on Wednesday, the hydraulic department of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said that water levels of the six lakes — Upper Vaitarna, Modak Sagar, Tansa, Vihar, Tulsi and Bhatsa — from where the water is supplied to the city have receded as compared to the last year.

Despite a good rainfall in catchment areas last year, the dip in water level is a cause of concern. However, additional municipal commissioner (western suburbs) Manisha Mhaiskar said, “The stock in these lakes is sufficient and will last till July 15, 2012.”
Raising the water supply issue at the meeting, senior BJP councillor Dilip Patel said excess billing, contamination and water cuts are the issues which are not taken seriously by the department.

Shiv Sena’s Anuradha Pednekar expressed concerns over disarrayed schedule of water supply, while MNS leader Dilip Lande slammed the department for water contamination.
Corporators from the Congress, Samajwadi Party and NCP too trained guns at the administrators for not solving water grievances.