Residents suffer as well water levels dip around Metro tunnel

For the Zoroastrians living across the road from Wadiaji Atash Behram its a case of we told you so Within just two months of the Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited MMRCL boring the Metro III tunnel under Jagannath Shankar Sheth JSS Road the wells that have been springing water for close to a 100 years within their buildings have hit rock bottom levelsMembers of Mumbais Zoroastrian Parsi community have been embroiled in a legal tussle with MMRCL since May 2018 over the damage and desecration that the tunnelling would cause the 188yearold religious structure Additionally scholars had warned of the effect of tunnelling on the well inside the structure whose water is used exclusively for religious practices While speaking to midday in December 2018 Zoroastrian scholar Khojeste Mistree had said As a result of tunnelling if the water channels change then for all practical purposes you cannot conduct any rituals in the fire temple If the well runs dry then the fire temple is redundantResidents from Karim Manzil Singapuri and Sukhadwala buildings stand by the well in Karim ManzilAfter experiencing acute water shortage since the tunnelling started under Wadiaji the residents of three of the affected buildings have written to the MMRCL on February 25 demanding swift actionMMRCL commenced tunnel construction under JSS Road after the Bombay High Court lifted the stay order on November 30 While the tunnelboring machine travelled beneath the Anjuman Atash Behram between December 11 and 13 it crossed the Wadiaji Atash Behram between December 19 and 22The well at Karim ManzilHoma Pouredehi a resident of Sukhadwala Building said that the residents have relied on well water for all domestic chores With a 10 percent water cut announced by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation BMC which is currently in place Pouredehi said it was the well water that was seeing the residents through Earlier the motor would bring up water for two hours Now its a trickle for half hour she said This means she can no longer wash her dishes under a tap and now dips them in a bucket of waterBetty Yih who has lived in Singapuri Building for 15 years is unable to wash a round of clothes every day I am trying to use as little water as possible and now wash only twice a weekA resident of Karim Manzil Gulshan Dubash says they have to call a water tanker once in 10 days PicsAtul KambleKarim Manzil is in a worse situation with residents like Gulshan Dubash having to call a water tanker once in 10 days Thats a Rs 400 cost per trip she said The letter which includes the signatures of more than 20 residents from Karim Manzil Singapuri and Sukhadwala buildings states MMRCL had assured us that their work would be closely monitored and no damage or inconvenience would be faced by the public Nobody from your side has checked anything about this problem Both the fire temples on JSS Road are facing the same situation as even their water levels have gone down and there is dirt at the bottom of those wells tooHosi Dastur trustee at Wadiaji Atash Behram confirmed that the water level of the well inside the fire temple is lower from what was recorded last year at this time At present were able to manage but if the levels continue to drop we wont be able to carry out rituals We will have no choice but to take the matter back to court he saidDastur added that MMRCL officials had not made any efforts to recharge the well neither had they responded to queries raised by the trustees last year Jamshed Sukhadwala chief petitioner in the case thats currently pending in Supreme Court said MMRC officials have claimed that water levels are generally stable and are not linked to the tunnel boring operationMMRC has also proposed that in case any construction related drawdown of water levels in the wells is observed recharging of ground water table shall be initiated through recharge wells in the vicinity In case of a drawdown of water level in the wells grouting of the cracks under pressure from the face of the tunnel will be resorted to so as to prevent depletion of the water table This has to be done before the support rings are placed in positionNo comment from MMRCLWhen contacted MMRCL officials did not wish to comment on the subjectWas aquifer affectedAn aquifer is a rock formation that holds water and allows it to flow through Experts however feel that repairing the aquifer is a longdrawn process that can take years Neha Bhave a researcher at Punebased institute Advanced Center for Water Resources Development and Management said While digging the tunnel the aquifer could have been affected It is either completely or partially removed leading to a drop in water levelsACWADAM works on projects on aquiferbased groundwater management across the country and in Nepal and Bhutan She added that transferring water from another well means tapping into yet another aquifer which is not the solutionApart from the natural solution which is to wait for the rains Bhave pointed out that artificial recharge interventions can be considered Water can be captured in a rainwater harvesting structure which can allow it to percolate slowly over a period of time into a particular aquiferCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates