Area gets 2 lakh litres daily from tanker services that extract water from wells and borewells and deplete ground water levels
Area gets 2 lakh litres daily from tanker services that extract water from wells and borewells and deplete ground water levels
In a city with a 15 per cent water cut, housing societies have to rely on tankers to supplement their requirements.
Interestingly, across the city, south Mumbai draws the most water from tankers both from housing societies and five-star hotels.
According to suppliers, five-star hotels like Oberoi, Centaur, Taj and Leela and private hospitals like Hinduja and Lilavati commission at least 20 tankers each day.
This is a worrying fact as these tankers disturb ground water levels when they take their wateru00a0 from borewells.
Each water tanker contains 10,000 litres and costs between Rs 400 and Rs 2,000. The BMC, which has 10 tankers, charges only Rs 35 for 10,000 litres.
"We are one of the six water suppliers to Taj Presidency in Cuffe Parade and provide at least five tankers every day.
The water is used for cleaning, washing and for swimming pools," said a leading water supplier from Grant Road.
u00a0
He added, "Usually, the monsoon and some months after the rains is a slack period for us. But due to the water crisis this year, our business is booming."
The tankers use water from wells in Thakurdwar, Kalbadevi, Bhuleshwar and Azad Maidan.
In its front-page story on September 8 titled '84 lakh litres of water to shoot Tsunami scene', MiD DAY had reported how Mumbai is rainfall deficient by 21 per cent and every family gets 60 litres less than their daily requirement.
Dealing with crisis
The BMC has allotted Rs 5 lakh per corporator to dig borewells to meet the water crisis in the city.
u00a0
"It will be good if borewell water can be used for non-potable work during the water crisis," explained Dinesh Gondalia, BMC hydraulic engineer.
But environmentalists fear such a plan will affect ground water level in the long run. Karnataka has in fact, banned borewells.
"Due to concretisation in the city, there is hardly any water seepage.
This affects the ground water table because when we withdraw water in large quantities, seawater seeps in," said Dr Girish Jathar from the foundation of ecological conservation and sustainable development.
Go Figure
There are 30 water tanker suppliers in south Mumbai. The top five suppliers have two to three tanks and each tank makes about 10 rounds every day.
The top suppliers in south Mumbai are Gupta water suppliers (23676764), Malpani water suppliers (24221946) and Maharashtra well water supplier (67733326).
Water mafia
The rise in the population of Vasai, Nallasopara and Virar from 1.86 lakh people in 1981 to 6.87 lakh people in 2001 led to a rise in water mafia.
Organised gangs sold water meant for tribal irrigation projects to residents. Gangster Bhai Thakur and his gang graduated to land grabbing in the 1980s, as construction activities grew exponentially.
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
