Water stock in Mumbai dips to 6.1 per cent, Vaitarna at zero level

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The combined water stock in the seven lakes that serve Mumbai dipped to 6.1% of the total capacity as the wait for monsoon continued on Tuesday. Municipal officials assured there was no need to panic as the lakes held enough water to last all of next month along with reserve stocks.

The BMC supplies the city 3,420 million litres of water every day, while the stock in the lakes stands at 88,743 million litres which is the lowest in three years for this time of the year. In Upper Vaitarna, useful water stock stands at zero, while in Bhatsa, one of the bigger lakes supplying water in Mumbai, it is at 0.9 per cent. The Bhatsa system supplies water to the eastern suburbs and some parts of the island city like Matunga, Dongri, Sion and Byculla.

According to the Times of India, last year on the same day the water quantum stood at 14.8 per cent or 215 thousand million litres. The seven supplier lakes are Tulsi, Bhatsa, Vihar, Modak Sagar, Middle Vaitarna, Tansa and Upper Vairtarna. The BMC in April sought the permission of the state government to draw water from the reserve stock if required, which was approved.

Also Read: Mumbai Rains: Water-logging causes trouble for residents in Vasai

There was rain in the city last week and its adjoining areas due to the presence of cyclone Vayu in the Arabian Sea but the precipitation in the catchment locations of the lakes was not significant. The total rainfall received was 70 mm in Modak Sagar, 55 mm in Upper Vaitarna, 49 mm in Tansa and 52 mm in Bhatsa. Bandra corporator Asif Zakeria stated that in case the monsoon does not arrive soon there were concerns that the BMC would increase the water cuts.

Also Read: Low intensity rainfall over Mumbai till Sunday predicts IMD

"There have already been complaints about irregular water supply in some parts of Bandra like Kadeshwari and Pimpleshwar Wadi and also occasional complaints from areas like Mount Mary," he stated. A BMC official said "The stocks in Upper Vaitarna are zero, but then the entire Vaitarna system is made up of Upper Vaitarna, Middle Vaitarna, Modak Sagar and Tansa lakes, which does have live water storage."

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