Dry run — Indefinite water cut begins

“We had requested them to postpone the repairs till the monsoon,” says KDMC Executive Engineer (Water Supply) Pramod Kulkarni. “Still, they went aheadwith the work.” KDMC Municipal Commissioner G T Bandri says he will take up the matter with the MIDC “immediately”, adding that the corporation need not make alternative arrangements for tanker water supply. “It is too early to think of alternative arrangements as this problem is not something that cannot be solved,” he says.

However, MIDC Exceutive Engineer S V Yellapurkar says it will be three days before the repairs are completed. “The work has been postponed many times for over a year,” he explains, adding that it is imperative that the leak is plugged immediately.

The situation, meanwhile, has plummeted to new depths, with local coporator Vaman Mhatre (Sena) from Dombivli undertaking a fast unto death inside the reservoir to draw attention to the residents’ plight. He alleges: “The administrtation is colluding with some politicans to create regular, artificial scarcity in select areas.” But while the KDMC administrtation has been trying to placte him, delegations of citizens have beenpouring into the civic headquarters to petition the corporation for help.

In Kalyan, the densely populated Rambaug, Chikanghar, Birla College, Milind Nagar, Forest Colony, Anupam Nagar and Gholap Nagar areas have been without water since Sunday while severl areas in Ulhasnagar ran dry three days ago. Residents have been juggling buckets and pots at the wells and handpumps in their respective neighbourhoods, desperately trying to meet their daily requirements.

“If the KDMC cannot proviode us with water even with so many people on vacation, why do they collect taxes,” asks Vyjayanthi Iyer, a resident of Rambaug Lane No 3. “Can’t the corporation at least press tankers into service till the shortage dissipates,” she asks.

Meanwhile, in Ulhasnangar, which suffers from a year-round, chronic water shortage, Camp No 1, 2 and 3 areas have been altogether deprived of water since the last three days. “Since most of civic officials do not reside in Ulhasnagar they simply don’t care about our problems,”complins Preetinder Sohal, a resident of Camp 1.

15 pc water cut from today

Water supply to Mumbai will be curtailed by 15 per cent for an indefinite period beginning Tuesday, due to infrequent electric supply by the Maharashtra State Electricity Board (MSEB) from Pise-Panjrapur and Bhandup.

According to a statement released by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) today, pressure will be lower than normal and supply hours will be adjusted accordingly. The crunch will felt especially by persons residing in elevated localities and in multi-storey buildings. The situation will continue until the fluctuating MSEB power is stablised, according to the statement.

Additional Municipal Commissioner (Projects) Rahul Asthana told Express Newsline on Monday: “Mumbaikars should not misunderstand this 15 per cent cut to be due to water shortage. Only the pumping capacity has been reduced due to improper power supply by the MSEB.” He has therefore urged citizens to conserve water. The problemis not confined to a particular area as the power fluctuation has occurred throughout the grid.