A 25-year-old construction worker was reportedly injured after a cooking gas cylinder exploded on Saturday morning, following a fire at a shanty in the Santacruz West area, police said. The incident occurred in Ambewadi locality on Golibar Road, an official told PTI. He said, "A fire broke out in a shanty meant for workers at a construction site. Those present there started dousing flames, but a cylinder exploded suddenly." According to the police official, the construction worker suffered injuries in the mishap, as reported by PTI. On being alerted, a water tanker and an ambulance were reportedly rushed to the spot. The injured person was taken to a nearby hospital, the official said, reported PTI. Earlier, during the ongoing Maharashtra monsoon session, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde informed the state legislative council on Wednesday that 13,000 incidents of fire occurred in Mumbai in the last three years, which claimed the lives of 65 people, reported news agency PTI. He gave this information in a written response to a query by Congress legislator Bhai Jagtap in the ongoing Maharashtra monsoon session. "Till January this year, there have been 13,000 fire incidents in Mumbai in the last three years, which have caused the deaths of 65 people and injured 473. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has conducted fire safety audits of 1,270 buildings, with the government finding deficiencies in 278 structures," Eknath Shinde said in his reply, reported PTI. The BMC has submitted a report indicating that the deficiencies in 278 buildings that were identified in the earlier survey have since been addressed, reported PTI. The chief minister also stressed that it was mandatory to have fire evacuation lifts in buildings exceeding a height of 70 metres. Earlier, an LPG cylinder caught fire during the 'palkhi' or palanquin procession being taken out as part of the annual pilgrimage near Saswad town in Pune district on Thursday, officials told PTI. Nobody was reported injured in the incident as the fire brigade personnel swiftly separated the cylinder and doused the flames, they said. "The incident took place when some of the pilgrims from a 'dindi', a small group of devotees who are part of the palkhi procession of Saint Dnyaneshwar and Saint Tukaram Maha, were cooking food using the cylinder near Saswad town in Purandar tehsil of the district," a fire brigade official told PTI. (With inputs from PTI)
06 July,2024 04:53 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentFive boys who went crab hunting on a hill in Thane city and got lost were rescued after a joint overnight effort involving different agencies, an official said on Saturday. The lads, most of whom are about 12 years old, comprised three siblings. The rescue mission took seven hours, reported PTI. "Five boys from Dargah Galli in Azad Nagar area went up to the Khadi Machine area on Mumbra hill around 5 pm in order to catch crabs. But they lost their way and raised an alarm. Some persons who were passing by at that time, heard them shouting for help, but could not find them. They later alerted the fire brigade," Yasin Tadvi, chief of Thane Municipal Corporation's Regional Disaster Management Cell (RDMC) told PTI. According to the news agency report, following the notice, a multi-agency search effort was begun, comprising members of the RDMC, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the fire department, and other organisations. "The rescue operation was a challenging one as the team members had to face the precarious hilly region in darkness and amid rains. The boys were finally rescued around 3 am and handed over to their parents," Tadvi further stated. #WATCH | Maharashtra: NDRF & fire brigade team rescued the five children who got stuck while catching crabs on a hill near the Mumbra Khadi Machine Dam, in Thane. Fire Officer, Ganesh Kedare says, "We received a call yesterday at around 8:30 pm that some children got stuck on… https://t.co/gOYafiu3Ku pic.twitter.com/Uy9NC4QVIp — ANI (@ANI) July 6, 2024 Meanwhile, fire official Ganesh Kedare, while speaking to ANI, said, "We received a call yesterday at around 8:30 pm that some children got stuck on the hill. Our team immediately reached the spot. All five children have been rescued and they are safe." A 25-year-old construction worker was hurt after a cooking gas cylinder exploded following a fire at a shanty in the Santacruz West neighbourhood on Saturday morning, according to police. The event occurred on Golibar Road near Ambewadi. "A fire broke out in a shanty built for construction workers. "Those present attempted to extinguish the flames, but a cylinder suddenly exploded," an official stated. The injured worker was transported to a nearby hospital following the incident. After being notified, a water tanker and an ambulance were dispatched to the scene, according to the official. With PTI inputs
06 July,2024 02:08 PM IST | Thane | mid-day online correspondentTwo coaches of the Panchvati Express, numbers 3 and 4, decoupled near Kasara station at 8:40 am while heading towards Mumbai. The problem was quickly resolved, said Central Railway officials and added that the coaches were successfully recoupled by 9:02 am. After confirming the train's safety and security, it continued its journey to Mumbai around 9:15 am. Maharashtra | Coach no. 3 and 4 of Panchvati Express decoupled near Kasara station at 8.40 am, while coming towards Mumbai. The coaches were recoupled at 9.02 am and after being assured about the safety and security of the recoupled train, they moved towards Mumbai at 9.15 am.… — ANI (@ANI) July 6, 2024 This incident resulted in an approximately 35-minute delay for the train. Luckily, no damages or injuries were recorded. According to Central Railway's Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO), train services on the affected route are currently running smoothly. Further details awaited
06 July,2024 12:40 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
With the goal of making Mumbai pothole-free, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has started using the "geopolymer" technique for routine road maintenance and repairs. Recently, geopolymer technology was used to completely repair the road near Gundavali Metro station in Mumbai. By filling the potholes with geopolymer concrete, which blends seamlessly with the existing cement concrete surface, a strong and cohesive road structure is created, according to an official. He added that the traffic disruption is minimised by the speedy road repairs made possible by the geopolymer concrete and the technique could yield positive results in the coming years. A recently released statement by the BMC said that using the geopolymer technology was a big step towards making Mumbai's roads free of potholes. The eco-friendly building materials also guarantee the resilience and longevity of road surfaces. To fill a pothole, the geopolymer approach combines polymer, stone, and sand. The road can reopen to traffic at the earliest, the officials suggest. Potholes are mostly caused on asphalt roads due to heavy rains. Traditionally, potholes on asphalt roads have been filled using cold mix technology, which has faced criticism for years. The BMC has previously tested various pothole-filling alternatives, including precast concrete, paver blocks, geopolymer mix, and rapid-hardening cement. Experts suggest that due to its affordability, environmental friendliness, and practicality, geopolymers have garnered interest as potential substitutes for organic polymers in road construction and pothole repairs. When used for road repairs, geopolymers demonstrate significant strength development, particularly when incorporating recycled asphalt pavement. Adding recycled asphaltic concrete aggregate enhances the performance of geopolymer concrete by increasing its resistance and maintaining satisfactory compressive strength, which leads to greater durability and longevity. Sources said that concrete roadways will be strengthened through a trial program utilizing geopolymer technology. Additionally, a combined dashboard will be used to monitor potholes and ensure they are filled promptly. Over 397 km of the city's roads have been concreted by the BMC, with over 25 per cent of the work reportedly completed. They added that the civic body has sped up the work of both concretisation and identifying and repairing the potholes in the city. The experts suggested that city roads may not solely be repaired by the geopolymer technique but that there are other techniques also available to overcome the potholes problem in the city. However, once the entire concretisation is completed the geopolymer technique could be helpful for the road repair works. An official explained that with geopolymer technology, the pit is immediately filled after the material is prepared at the spot. The technology is used mainly for cement roads. In two hours, when the material dries out, transportation can begin. This helps roadways that see heavy traffic. A one-square-metre pothole could cost a few thousand rupees to be repaired or filled. Last month, Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde stated that the concretisation of roads in the entire city was being done and in the next two years, Mumbai will be pothole-free. He said that the civic administration is working with the government and police to ease the traffic congestion. CM Shinde had also urged the residents of the city to cooperate with the administration in keeping the metropolis clean and beautiful.
06 July,2024 12:13 PM IST | Mumbai | Asif RizviIn the absence of extended periods of intense rain, the water level in the lakes that supply the city with water has only increased by a few inches. According to BMC data issued on July 6, the combined lake levels in Mumbai's seven reservoirs that provide the city with potable water currently stand at 10.88 per cent. The combined lake levels or water stock in the seven reservoirs that provide drinking water to Mumbai is currently at 1,57,449 million litres of water, or 10.88 per cent, according to data released on Friday by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). The BMC data indicates that the water stock level is substantially lower than it was in prior years. The water stock level was measured in July 2022 at 18.29 per cent and in July 2023 at 16.08 per cent, respectively. Mumbai gets its water from the Upper and Middle Vaitarnas, Bhatsa, Tansa, Vihar, Tulsi, and Modak Sagar. According to information released by the local government, Tansa's water level is 22.78 per cent. Modak-Sagar provides access to 27.36 per cent of the available water. 🚰 मुंबईला पाणीपुरवठा करणाऱ्या ७ जलाशयांचा आज सकाळी ६ वाजेपर्यंतचा अहवाल---🚰 Report of water stock in the seven lakes, supplying water to Mumbai, till 6am today.#MumbaiRains#MyBMCUpdate pic.twitter.com/wQYb9WAlQo — माझी Mumbai, आपली BMC (@mybmc) July 6, 2024 There is 16.90 per cent useful water level available in Middle Vaitarna, 0% in Upper Vaitarna, 6.67 per cent in Bhatsa, 22.01 per cent in Vehar, and 30.78 per cent in Tulsi. Meanwhile, Mumbai and the surrounding areas have been receiving intermittent moderate rainfall since Saturday morning and the skies have been overcast. In its most recent Mumbai weather report, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecasted a partly cloudy sky with sporadic periods of moderate rainfall for the next twenty-four hours. "Partly cloudy sky with occasional spells of moderate rain in city and suburbs," the Indian Meteorological Department reported for Mumbai. It is anticipated that the city will have a maximum temperature of 34 degrees Celsius and a low temperature of 27 degrees Celsius.
06 July,2024 11:31 AM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentOn Saturday morning, intermittent showers hit Mumbai and the metropolitan region after experiencing a slight lull in rainfall. The latest Mumbai weather update stated that the city and suburbs will get intermittent spells of moderate rain. The India Meteorological Department, in their Mumbai weather update, stated the city and suburbs will see "generally cloudy sky with intermittent spells of moderate rain in city and suburbs" in the next 24 hours. The weather department, per the Mumbai weather update, has predicted that the maximum temperature in the city is likely to settle at 33 degrees Celsius and the minimum temperature will be recorded at 26 degrees Celsius. Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation in their Mumbai weather update stated that the city's coast will be hit by a high tide at 12.41 pm and at 00.25 am on July 7 and the tides will be as high as 4.48 meters and 3.81 meters respectively. The civic body further added that a low tide of about 1.75 meters would hit the city's coast at 6.49 pm. According to BMC's Mumbai weather update, in the 24 hours ending at 8 am on Saturday, the city recorded 16.55 mm of rainfall while the eastern suburbs recorded 21.96 mm of rainfall and the western suburbs recorded rainfall of 26.35 mm. Mumbai weather update: Yellow alert for Thane, Raigad The weather department has given a yellow alert for Thane, Palghar and Raigad districts on Saturday. The weather agency said that the regions will see heavy rainfallin isolated places. On Saturday, Delhi experienced a cloudy sky with a minimum temperature of 27.1 degrees Celsius, 0.8 degrees lower than the season's normal, as reported by the India Meteorological Department. The weather forecast predicts mostly cloudy skies with a chance of light rain during the day. The maximum temperature is forecast to be approximately 33 degrees Celsius. The IMD stated that the humidity was 86 per cent at 8:30 a.m. The Air Quality Index (AQI) of the national capital was recorded in the 'satisfactory' category with a reading of 64 at 9 am, according to the Central Pollution Control Board. An AQI between zero and 50 is considered 'good', 51 to 100 'satisfactory', 101 to 200 'moderate', 201 to 300 'poor', 301 to 400 'very poor', and 401 to 500 'severe'. With PTI inputs
06 July,2024 10:54 AM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondentThe epic victory parade held at Marine Drive to welcome Team India has left locals fuming as lakhs of fans who thronged the promenade brought Maximum City to a full halt for hours on Thursday. Residents asked what ‘crime’ they had committed to be ‘detained’ inside their homes like this. Motorists who had to switch off their engines for over six hours, have slammed the traffic cops. atOptions = { 'key' : 'd0ddb8ef8f1a62a8cdd22fac27fc5ea7', 'format' : 'iframe', 'height' : 90, 'width' : 728, 'params' : {} }; Tricolour-waving fans, who came from various corners of the city and adjacent districts, climbed onto everything in sight, including the branches of trees, dividers, vehicles and boundary walls, just to get a glimpse of Team India. Interestingly, children and adults were seen seated atop a police car with their legs dangling, while others were seated on the bonnet of the car when the cops were occupied with bandobast-related work at the promenade. Scores of dented vehicles were spotted at Marine Drive on Friday. Pics/Anurag Ahire “Thankfully no untoward incident took place. There could have easily been a stampede where people would have died. The area was absolutely packed. Fortunately, no resident of any building had a medical emergency as nobody could think of venturing out as the entire stretch was packed with cricket fans,” said Ashok Gupta, president, Marine Drive Citizens’ Association (MDCA). atOptions = { 'key' : 'd0ddb8ef8f1a62a8cdd22fac27fc5ea7', 'format' : 'iframe', 'height' : 90, 'width' : 728, 'params' : {} }; Petition on cards? The Board of Control for Cricket of India (BCCI) organised the victory parade for Team India from the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) to Wankhede Stadium. Asked if the BCCI or Mumbai police had called any joint meeting before finalising the felicitation ceremony for Team India, Gupta said, “No event should be organised at the cost of locals’ convenience. We were not informed by the BCCI or the Mumbai police. We came to know about this event through the media. We learnt about the event through the Mumbai police’s X profile.” Cricket fans climbed onto everything in sight, including trees, vehicles, dividers and walls, to get a glimpse of Team India on Thursday evening. Pics/Diwakar Sharma “We are seriously considering filing a petition so that no such event is organised in the future without taking locals into confidence. Residents have suffered a lot because of this parade. Crowds entered the premises of residential buildings where many vehicles were damaged. Fans climbed onto the tops of cars to view cricketers,” Gupta told mid-day. “If we are informed well in advance about any such event, we can inform residents to plan their day accordingly so that their lives are not paralysed,” added Gupta. atOptions = { 'key' : 'd0ddb8ef8f1a62a8cdd22fac27fc5ea7', 'format' : 'iframe', 'height' : 90, 'width' : 728, 'params' : {} }; Heart patient inconvenienced A 68-year-old resident, Suresh Chhabria, was stopped by the traffic police en route to Dadar where he was to visit a doctor for a spine issue. “My wife was driving the car. The traffic police stopped the vehicle for 10 minutes. I had to step out and argue with the traffic policeman. Why was I stopped? Where was the traffic management?” fumed Chhabria. “After seeing my doctor, we returned to Marine Drive around 9.30 pm. But the situation was horrible! We had to wait for 30 minutes on the road near my house. A three-star officer was there and he told us that if we move ahead, the fans might break the side mirrors of my car. I told the police that I was a patient and had had a bypass surgery but all requests went in vain. We had to wait unnecessarily on the road,” he added. “I am not blaming the Marine Drive police at all; I’m only talking about the traffic police and their mismanagement. The Mumbai police commissioner was quoted in a newspaper as saying that ambulances were allowed to go. But what about patients travelling in their own cars? Can’t a patient travel in a car to meet his doctor? Am I not a citizen of this country? Where was the management? Please answer these questions, Mr commissioner,” Chhabria said. He added, “What we witnessed on Thursday evening was utter chaos. We are not against cricket, but the traffic management was terrible. We were informed by the police about the traffic situation at the eleventh hour! What crime have Marine Drive residents committed? We were trapped and locked up in our own homes.” ‘Executive should use mind’ Another local resident Advocate Prerak Chaudhary said, “As much as I appreciate the spirit of the event and congratulate the victorious team, creating lawlessness and a nuisance for the citizenry is uncalled for. It must be deprecated in the strongest words. The executive should apply their mind and have basic common sense to think of the effect such events can have on people facing an emergency. We have done this on a working day during peak evening traffic hours on one of the busiest roads of our city, now leading to the Coastal road.” Mahendra Hemdev, a Marine Drive resident, said, “Despite the unprecedented crowd, we were fortunate there was no stampede. The police were stretched but performed admirably. Such events need careful planning in the future.” Most of the sea-facing buildings near Wankhede Stadium such as Krishna Sadan, Ganga Vihar, Shiv Sadan, Chateau Marine and Jyoti Sadan have shallow boundary walls, making them an easy target for unruly crowds. All these buildings are a part of the UNESCO's Victorian Gothic and Art Deco Ensembles of Mumbai inscribed in the World Heritage List 2018. When mid-day visited the spot, a few damaged vehicles could still be spotted in the Wankhede lane near the Vinoo Mankad Gate along with broken and fallen barricades and damaged signs. “Almost all cars in my lane and the nearby buildings are damaged as crowds had been standing on them. Who is going to pay for all this damage? The windows, mirrors and antennae of some cars have been destroyed. This was completely unnecessary,” a resident said. Indrani Malkani, chairman of V Citizens Action Network, said it was “sheer euphoria” in a city mad about cricket. “The residents may be right in their way, but Thursday’s gathering was an outburst of excitement, joy and patriotism,” she said. Fan Speak Viraj Kadbhane, a resident of Nashik who had come to Mumbai along with his elder brother to see Virat Kohli, told mid-day, “I got separated from my sibling in the crowd, so I will return home by train alone. I’ve been fortunate to see Virat and Team India up close.” Suresh Chhabria, heart patient who was stopped by traffic police. PIC/Shadab Khan A taxi driver, Khalil Ansari, who ferried a passenger from Worli to Nariman Point on Thursday, said, “Many people climbed on my taxi, damaging it. I requested the fans to desist but the situation got out of hand as no one was listening. Luckily, I also got a chance to see Team India, but my entire day was wasted because of the traffic.” Meet Thakkar, a Borivli resident, was among the many fans who lost their high-end phones during the event. He told mid-day, “I clicked so many photos and videos before losing my phone. I rushed to the Marine Drive police station and registered a complaint.” 11 fans injured Meet Thakkar, Borivli resident A total of 11 were injured during the chaos that erupted on Marine Drive during the victory parade. All were taken to GT hospital, and one of them was admitted. Dr Jitendra Sankpal, who heads GT Hospital, said, “The person who was admitted had fractured his foot and is in the surgical ward. The other ten were kept under observation in the night and discharged on Friday morning.” atOptions = { 'key' : 'd0ddb8ef8f1a62a8cdd22fac27fc5ea7', 'format' : 'iframe', 'height' : 90, 'width' : 728, 'params' : {} }; With inputs from Eshan Kalyanikar
06 July,2024 10:33 AM IST | Mumbai | Diwakar Sharma | Rajendra B. AklekarThe Bombay High Court on Friday extended by four weeks the interim bail on medical grounds granted to Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal, accused in a money laundering case. On May 6, the high court had granted interim bail for two months on medical grounds to Goyal, arrested in a money laundering case by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). Goyal, 75, has now filed an application seeking extension of the same. Goyal, who is suffering from cancer, had submitted to the high court that he has to undergo a preliminary laparoscopic surgery. His counsel Aabad Ponda told a single bench of Justice N J Jamadar that the surgery is scheduled on July 23. The bench took note of this and extended the interim bail for four weeks. “Having perused the medical reports and the situation in which the applicant finds himself, in the backdrop of the physical and psychological ailments, aggravated on account of the demise of his wife, I deem it appropriate to extend the interim bail on medical ground by a period of four weeks,” the HC said. It would hear Goyal’s plea for bail both on merits and medical grounds on August 2. Earlier this week, the ED told the court that bail could be extended by three weeks provided Goyal gets himself medically examined at the Tata cancer hospital and a proper medical report is submitted on his health condition. Goyal in his application seeking extension of the interim bail said his health condition continues to remain poor and that his mental health had also deteriorated.
06 July,2024 08:53 AM IST | Mumbai | AgenciesSenior Congress leader and former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan has said that Maharashtra has come down to 11th position in terms of the per capita income. Speaking in the Lower House of the legislature over the state budget on Thursday, Chavan said the state’s 11th position is mentioned in the Central government’s Statistics and Programme Implementation Department’s website. “Maharashtra is at number 11, behind states such as Sikkim, Puducherry, Telangana, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and others. But the State Economic Survey is misleading as it shows Maharashtra at number 6. The government must clarify,” he said. The state’s economy is affected because 50 per cent of the population is employed in agriculture and while a shift to services sector and industry is required, no new industries are being set up in the state, Chavan added. “Revenue from taxes has come down and the real growth rate at constant prices is only 0.4 per cent. How can the state become a USD 1 trillion economy in such a situation?” he asked. He also questioned if the sops announced for women in the state budget were aimed at getting votes in the Assembly elections. In the budget presented last week, Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister Ajit Pawar announced ‘Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana’ to provide financial assistance of Rs 1,500 per month to eligible women. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
06 July,2024 08:41 AM IST | Mumbai | AgenciesThe Maharashtra Road Safety Network has written to the state government urgently calling for all schools situated within a 500-metre radius of state and national highways to be declared as “black spots”. This aims to prioritise road safety interventions in these areas to protect our most vulnerable road users: children. “The proximity of schools to high-speed traffic corridors significantly increases the risk of crashes, endangering the lives of students, parents, and school staff. Recent data indicates a disturbing trend of crashes and near-misses around these educational institutions, underscoring the need for immediate action. In Maharashtra, 454 children died due to road crashes in 2022, according to a recent Maharashtra Highway Traffic police report,” Ranjit Gadgil, programme director (Parisar) said. Parisar has been working towards sustainable urban transport, road safety and air pollution, pedestrian safety, heritage preservation, etc and is a member of the Sustainable Urban Mobility Network (SUM Net) and Road Safety Network (RSN) which are national coalitions of NGOs, CSO, education institutions and road safety experts working with the office of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, the state transport department and municipal corporations. “We undertook a participatory Road Safety Audit (RSA) of school zones, with the School Transport Committee (STC) at the Zilla Parishad Primary School, Shikrapur, Pune district, which revealed a very high-risk situation for school students and caregivers located near any highway. There is a need for immediate action based on scientific RSA and Indian Road Congress guidelines for school zones on highways. Stakeholders must give top priority to schools located near any high-risk areas and make them safer by implementing and managing ‘safer systems’ in order to make access to education safer for our young citizens. We urge the government to prioritise this initiative and allocate financial resources for the provision of cycling and walking facilities for children to protect our future generations” Sandeep Gaikwad, senior programme associate, said. Key points of the letter High-risk zones: Schools located near highways face heightened risks due to high traffic volumes and speeds. Declaring these areas as black spots will ensure they receive targeted road safety measures Indian Road Congress design standards: All schools located within a 500-metre radius of state and national highways on both sides should be designated as black spots for road safety interventions, which must be based on statutory Indian Road Congress design standards Comprehensive safety interventions: These include implementing traffic calming measures such as speed breakers and humps, rumble strips and driver feedback signs to reduce vehicle speeds.
06 July,2024 08:36 AM IST | Mumbai | Rajendra B. AklekarThe city’s water management system faces challenges due to rising demand and limited water sources. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) usually plans so as to have enough water stock until the end of July, expecting the rains to begin in early June. However, with the monsoon arriving later in recent years, the BMC has struggled to manage the water supply, as the available stock is often not enough to meet daily needs. The city has faced water cuts in June for the past three years. The BMC has a management system for water stock. The seven lakes supplying the city have a combined water stock of 14.47 lakh million litres. The BMC uses and supplies the water in such a way that if all lakes are full by the end of September, the water stock may last until the end of July. “The plan was designed to ensure uninterrupted water supply even if the rain is delayed by a week or two. But in the past few years, the monsoon has been delayed by over a month. Specifically, in the last three years, the rain started in the last week of June or the first week of July. This year, even a week into July, we are still waiting for heavy rain. Therefore, there needs to be an improvement in management, and the corporation should aim to manage the water supply to last until the end of August,” said a former BMC official. While the idea is sound, the BMC cannot implement it due to the inadequate water stock to meet the city’s growing demand. “The plan was made when the city’s water requirement was lower. Now, the BMC supplies 3,850 million litres of water daily, but the requirement has reached almost 4,500 million litres per day. Now, with a 10 per cent cut imposed by the BMC, many areas face water shortages and low pressure. If we try to manage the stock until the end of August, it will result in less water every day, effectively a water cut. Therefore, we cannot manage the water supply adequately due to insufficient stock,” said a BMC official. Currently, the seven lakes have a combined stock of 1.30 lakh million litres, which is nine per cent of the total storage capacity—the lowest level in the past three years. Last year, the lake levels were higher (18 per cent) after heavy rains started in the last week of June. In 2022, the stock was at 15 per cent. Water cuts in recent years 2024 The BMC imposed a 5 per cent water cut from May 30 when the water stock went below 10 per cent, followed by a 10 per cent cut from June 5. 2023 Even after using the reserved stock of lakes, the stock fell below 7 per cent in June. Due to delayed rains, the BMC imposed a 10 per cent cut from July 1 to August 2. 2022 A 10 per cent water cut was imposed from June 28 to July 12, as the stock dipped to 9 per cent due to the delayed monsoon.
06 July,2024 08:33 AM IST | Mumbai | Prajakta KasaleADVERTISEMENT
