Malabar Hill reservoir: Residents, activists urge BMC to provide accurate data to IIT Roorkee

IIT Roorkee had proposed the construction of an alternate tank with a capacity of 52.41 million liters. However, residents argue that there is no need for an additional tank and have urged the BMC to provide accurate data to the institute.

In response to these concerns, the BMC plans to revisit IIT Roorkee to verify the data, address the issues raised by residents, and reassess the necessity of the new tank.

Abhijit Bangar, Additional Municipal Commissioner (Projects), told The Indian Express, “After receiving IIT Roorkee’s report, we had it peer-reviewed by retired BMC engineers who previously worked on repairs. They suggested that the alternate tank could be constructed with a capacity of 35 MLD. We intended to consult with IIT Roorkee again, but the citizens raised these issues beforehand.”

Bangar added, “In the meeting, residents raised concerns that some data might have been incorrectly provided. We will verify this data with IIT Roorkee, address the points raised by residents, and reconsider the need for the alternate tank.”

Zoru Bathena, an activist who was present during the course of the meeting said, “Even though the report had been readied by June, we got it only last week and we found that details in the report were very odd. We believe that the information provided by the BMC was erroneous as even basic information like the capacity of the tank was inaccurate.”

“We highlighted these points with the BMC, pointing to the fact that repairs over the structure have been undertaken several times over the decade. The BMC is willing to find solutions and has asked us to share the details with the civic body. We will be convening another review meeting to check whether another tank is need,” Bathena said.

Another resident added, “What is the purpose of building an alternate tank once the repairs are completed? Repairs can be carried out in phases, and the current capacity is not being fully utilized.”

Earlier this year, IIT Roorkee conducted a structural audit following conflicting reports from IIT Bombay and another committee.

The audit concluded that the existing reservoir does not need to be demolished and can be retained with repairs.

The report noted that compartments 2A, 2B, and 1A were generally sound, while compartments 1B and 1C showed structural distress, with 1C exhibiting significant corrosion of reinforcement.

To facilitate repairs without disrupting water supply, IIT Roorkee recommended constructing an alternate tank with a capacity of 52.41 million liters. However, this proposal has been met with criticism from residents, who question the necessity of such a tank and suggest there may be inaccuracies in the data provided to IIT Roorkee by the BMC.