Mumbai: Not 15%, 'up to 50%' water cut in areas far from filtration unit

MUMBAI: The BMC's announcement of a month-long 15% water cut for the city till April 30 is higher, even up to 50%, for areas away from the Bhandup water filtration plant. Civic officials say as water travels to its 28 reservoirs in different parts of the city, areas away from the plant and those situated at a higher altitude could experience a bigger cut.
Residents of some areas have been alleging an up to 50% cut. The worst affected localities include Bandra localities of Mount Mary, S V Road, Linking Road and Chapel Road, Kalina and Andheri (East). Now, residents have shot off letters to the BMC for an urgent end to the crisis.

The water cut was announced on March 31 after a private developer damaged a city water tunnel. This led to an FIR being lodged in the case and a BMC proposal to impose Rs 75 crore penalty on it.
Additional municipal commissioner P Velrasu said, "The BMC is working on a war footing on repairing the puncture in the tunnel which is 80 metres underground. We have already dewatered the tunnel and now the water is being transported through the old Tansa pipeline which was in use till 2018. When the tunnel was activated in 2018, the old Tansa pipeline was kept on standby to be used in times of such contingency."
Citizens say the water problem is acute. Former Bandra corporator Asif Zakaria said all areas located at a height are facing acute water issues.
"The H-West Ward requires 12-pound pressure daily while the water pressure currently being released is only 5 to 6 pounds, so all areas are suffering," said Zakaria.
Advocate Godfrey Pimenta from Watchdog Foundation, in a letter to the BMC, said the civic body should audit all its major pipelines to plug any kind of leakage. "The goathons of Sahar, Marol, Chakala and Gundavali, among others, are facing a harrowing time due to non-supply of municipal water. In such a situation, the BMC must grant a 50% rebate in water bills," said Pimenta.
In the wake of the water pipeline and tunnel damage incidents, officials said the BMC will write to agencies, including the Thane Municipal Corporation, Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) and Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) to ask them to ensure that permission is sought before any kind of works are planned to be taken around its 400km pipeline network.