Vadodara: Water woes may hit the city if the quantity of water being released into Ajwa Reservoir from Narmada canal is not increased soon. Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) has written to Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Ltd (SSNNL) asking it to increase the discharge of water into the reservoir.
The SSNNL has been releasing 20 cubic feet per second (cusecs) of water into the reservoir from Rampura branch canal of Narmada project since May 1. Despite this, the water in the reservoir has been depleting at a rate of 0.6inches a day. The water level on Tuesday was 204.45feet.
With the consistent decline in the level, the civic body has not been able to draw sufficient water from the reservoir. In the place of the required quantity of 145 million litres per day (MLD), the VMC can now get only 132MLD water from the reservoir.
VMC officials said they expect the water level in the reservoir to remain at its present level only if water is released into it at a rate of 60cusecs. This would ensure that the amount of water being supplied presently is maintained.
“If the level goes down to 204feet, we will be able to supply around 120MLD water and, at 203feet, this will go down further to 90MLD. We have explained the situation in detail to the SSNNL officials and have requested them for a larger quantity of water,” said VMC executive engineer Alpesh Majumdar.
A bone of contention, however, remains that of the bill for the supply of water by SSNNL. While there is no clarity on this, SSNNL has sought Rs 3.14 per kilolitre as deposit from the VMC towards the supply of water.
From Tuesday, SSNNL has been releasing water into the canal at a rate of 20 cubic feet per second (cusec). The total inflow from the canal is around 48 million litres per day (MLD).
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