Thanks to the 48 hours of heavy rainfall in the catchment areas, all of Mumbai's seven water-supplying lakes have now reached 60 per cent of usable amount of water...
People try to shield themselves from the heavy torrent at Kamani, Vidyavihar. Pic/Satej Shinde
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Heavy rainfall in the catchment areas for the last two days will spell relief for the city as the water stock in all seven water-supplying lakes has reached 60 per cent of total usable amount. While Modak Sagar Lake started overflowing yesterday morning, the rain has added 47 days of water in the other lakes.
Modak Sagar is one of the major lakes, which supplies drinking water to the city. The water stock has reached 8.99 lakh million litre yesterday. This means Mumbai now has enough water for the next eight months. On July 13, the water stock was 7.22 lakh million litres (see box).
Also read: Mumbai Rains: High tide alert dates from 15th July to 13th August
School kids play on a flooded street in Chembur. Pic/Shadab khan
A senior civic official from the water department said, "The water in the lakes will last till February. The situation is much better than last year.."
Even if the water levels are stable now, officials have cautioned citizens to avoid wasting water. "We are in the process of increasing the water supply but at the same time people should also understand their responsibilities," said another official from the hydraulic department.
People enjoy the high tide at Marine Drive. Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi
Rains didn't hamper city
Despite heavy rains on Saturday, the city functioned smoothly. While the railways was running without disruptions, the civic body's disaster control also stated that there were no problems. However, bad patches on the roads did cause some trouble for the commuters. The island city recorded 4.8 mm of rainfall, with the suburbs being the wettest as it received 55.1 mm rainfall till yesterday afternoon.
A peacock enjoys the weather near Juhu Gymkhana. Pic/Sameer Markande
The civic body, received three short circuit and 27 tree/branches fall complaints till the evening. Due to the heavy showers, the Thane collector restricted the entry to Malshej Ghat as a precautionary measure and travellers are also barred from sitting on the stairs of Bhushi Dam in Lonavla.