A housing society in Ghatkopar organised this party, which did not go down well with some residents. While the organisers are claiming that no water was wasted
A pool party organised by a plush housing society in Ghatkopar has irked its residents, who are alleging that it is an irresponsible act to waste so much water in times of drought. The party was held on Sunday between 4 and 8 pm and was attended by 70-80 people, children included.
The pool party that was organised in the housing society
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The organisers of the party however maintained that no water was wasted and that borewell water was used. The Orchid Residence, the housing society created four years ago, comprises 550 flats. The whole housing society is divided in to 10 towers, each 15 storeys high. The attendance in comparison with the number of people residing was rather thin.
Water for this party was used from the general swimming pool of the housing society. A number of sprinklers were mounted on poles or trees that sprayed water on the ones swimming. This has not gone down well with some residents who protested through mails on their Google group (The Orchard Residency), replying to the invitation sent by teamharmony@gmail.com.
“It’s a shame that we are wasting so much water. It’s criminal since we are ourselves facing such shortage in our own state; not to talk about people living miles away from here, who are not even getting supply once a week,” said one mail. The thread of nine mails, which was started at 5:30 pm – well after the pool party started – continued till 10 pm roughly.
“It is indeed very sad. With drought in most parts of the country where people do not have water for nature’s call or even for performing last rites, we are having pool party. On one hand, we have a water donation drive, while on the other we waste water with pride. Sad,” read another email to the Google group.
Organiser speak
Nirav Gandhi, head of the organising team said, “First of all, borewell water was used for the party and not potable water. And I don’t see how water was wasted because the water from the pool was sprinkled, which went back to the pool.”
A resident spoke on condition of anonymity, “Even if that was borewell water, it could have been used for other purposes. What was the need for such a party when there is such a severe drought in the state.”
Gandhi further claimed that the party was organised after informing everyone. The resident confirmed that the committee had taken their permission beforehand but they had not anticipated the scale of the party.
The water donation drive mentioned by one of the residents was echoed by Gandhi, to which he said, “We collected about 15,000 litres of water from our society; 5,000 litres of which was sent to Marathwada. We will be sending more help by the end of this month. When we are so sensitive to the situation, how can we waste water?”
The chairman of the society refused to comment, despite repeated attempts.
The society requires around 5 lakh litres of water everyday. Around 2-3 lakh litres is supplied by the BMC. The water is used for drinking and other purposes. There are 5-6 borewells that generate about 2 lakh litres.
The water from the borewells is used for the three pools (general, one for women and one for children) and also for flushing purposes. The pools together hold about 2.5 lakh litres at a time, which is filtered and reused everyday. The manager of the society claimed that 10-15% water is lost during the purifying process, while the rest is reused.
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