The low water level in the Malabar Hill reservoir has led to a severe water shortage in some of the upscale apartments in the adjoining Peddar Road and Breach Candy areas. The residents have to hire a water tanker nearly every dayMalabar Hill the home of Mumbais rich and famous is going through a dry spell.
The water level in the Malabar Hill reservoir is low, which has led to a severe water shortage in some of the upscale apartments in the adjoining Peddar Road and Breach Candy areas.
However, it is difficult to accept the official claim that the reservoir water is inadequate, considering that the city received its highest rainfall ever on July 26 this year.
Dry run
The buildings in trouble are situated on the arterial roads from Breach Candy to Peddar Road, Sophia College Lane and the adjacent Rajabali Patel Road. Residents have been living out of supplies from water tankers that roll in almost every day.
Hema DeoraWorst of the lot
Ananta building on Rajabali Patel Road is the worst affected of the lot. Surprisingly, this building is connected to two supply lines each on Peddar Road and Warden Road.
In September, Ananta residents ran up a bill of Rs 28,875 for hiring water tankers. The daily expense for calling in a tanker adds up to anything between Rs 600 to Rs 750.
Says Hema Deora, politician Murli Deoras wife, I lived in Ananta nearly 10 years ago and I faced the same problem even then. Its sad that people in this area spend lakhs on designing interiors and yet they do not have basics like continuous water supply. I am aware of the problem that the residents are still facing.
The Deoras have moved to the nearby Ramalayam building which, surprisingly, does not have any water supply problem.
Hush, hush
Shashidhar building, also on Rajabali Patel Road, has been calling in water tankers. However, the building committee has reservations about going public with its complaints. Please dont publish the name of our building, requested a member of the committee, when contacted. He also refused to show documents to prove that the building has been forced to get limited supplies from water tankers.
Festive puzzle
Residents of Krishna House, a two-storeyed bungalow on Sophia College Lane, complain that water supply is most irregular on festive occasions. It always happens on Dussehra and Ganesh Chaturthi, said a resident. At a cost of Rs 750 a day, Krishna House dialled in a water tanker on October 3, 8 and 13.
Nexus at work?
There have been murmurings of a BMC nexus with water suppliers, but no resident of the affected areas was willing to go on record voicing his suspicion. Some of them offered harassment by tanker mafia as an excuse to remain silent.
Officials speak
The usual excuses offered to harried residents range from a pipe burst to power failure at pumping stations. However, A R Patel, sub-engineer of D ward, says he is not aware of the water crisis. We supplied water upto 11.30 pm during the Navratri season, he claimed. He, however, took down the name of the buildings and promised to look into the matter.
Dry: Ananta Building
Residents ran up a bill of Rs 28,875 for hiring water tankers in September 
Dry: Shashidhar Building
Residents of this building have also been calling for water tankers to deal with the crisis 
Dry: Krishna House
Water supply is most irregular on festive occasions. The cost of water tankers comes up to Rs 750 per day
