BMC’s festive gift: No water cut from Saturday

Mumbaikars can now heave a sigh of relief as the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has decided to revoke the 10% water cut from September 15.

Talking to media persons at the Tansa lake, Rahul Shewale, chairman of the BMC standing committee, said, “At present, we have enough water stock required to supply water to the city till next year. With the Ganesha festival is around the corner, we have decided to withdraw the water cut. This is a gift to Mumbaikars for the festival.”

He added that the decision will be announced in Friday’s standing committee meeting. Shewale, Mayor Sunil Prabhu, group leaders and the standing committee members visited the lakes on Wednesday.

“The decision of withdrawing the water cut will come into effect from Saturday,” said a senior official from the hydraulic department. Since July 1, the BMC had imposed a 10% water cut across the city and had extended it till September 15.

As on September 12, the total water stock in all the lakes stood at 12,40,608 million litres, which was 12,45,401 million litres last year. Mumbai requires 12,54,000 million litres water stock in lakes to supply water to the city till July next year.

Officials from the hydraulic department attribute the rise in lake levels to the continuous rainfall in catchment areas since July. “The catchment areas had received very less rainfall in June. However, since July, there has been a trend of continuous rainfall in catchment areas, which has helped fill the lake levels,” said another official from the hydraulic department.

The citizens, though welcomed the move, have said that the BMC should find some alternate solutions to avoid such water cuts in the future.

“It is good but the civic body should also ensure that the citizens do not face such water cuts in the future and initiate required measures for it,” Nitin Desai, a resident of King’s Circle.