Mumbaikars to finally get a sigh of relief as the water supply in Maharashtra’s capital city is likely to be restored to normal from April 23 as the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has claimed to have repaired the damaged water supply tunnel.
On March 31, the BMC closed the 5-km-long tunnel of 5,500 mm diameter between the Balkum and Bhandup water treatment complex after it got punctured by workers of a private developer who allegedly dug a borewell at Wagale estate in Thane.
The municipal body had shut the tunnel to carry out repair work and announced a 15 per cent water cut across Mumbai for 30 days. This alleged negligence by the contractor caused severe water shortages in Thane, Bhandup, and the areas around it.
Mumbaikars, who were already reeling under the heatwave-like condition, complained about a severe shortage of water and many got dependent on water tankers.
Quoting some BMC officials, the Times of India reported that the repair work has been concluded in 18 days even though 30 days for the task were announced initially.
“Housing societies were spending money on water tankers. The BMC provided tankers but those were insufficient. Housing societies were spending Rs 3,000-4,000 per tanker,” former corporator Asif Zakaria was quoted as saying by TOI.
On March 28, workers of the private developer broke the water tunnel while they were digging a borewell in Thane’s Wagale estate. However, a media report stated that a RTI report reveals the tunnel was already damaged when the construction work was being carried out. And because of that, approximately three litres of water was reportedly being wasted on a daily basis. The supply was diverted to the 2,750 dia Vaitarna main, 2,750 dia Upper Vaitarna main and 3,000 dia Tansa replacement main to avoid any further wastage.
A report by The Free Press Journal had quoted a civic official as saying, “We had to pump out several litres of water from the tunnel, the supply was then diverted to an old defunct line to make an alternate supply, arrangements were made for ventilation and lighting in the tunnel and then the repair work could be started. After the work gets completed, the supply will be diverted back to the tunnel.”
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