Mumbai: Subhash Ghai's theatre in hot water over massive wastage

Residents of Lalbaug complain that the overhead tank overflows for hours and that the management of producer-director Subhash Ghai's Jaihind Cinema ignored their concerns

Residents of Lalbaug are all set to take on celebrated producer-director Subhash Ghai's Jaihind Cinema in a water war. They allege that for the past five to six months, the theatre has been letting hundreds of litres of water go to waste almost each morning, simply because the management fails to switch off the supply to its overhead tank when it gets filled.

A video grab shows pools of water near the overhead tank of Jaihind Cinema in Lalbaug

“We see the overhead tank overflowing around 9 am each day after the water from the tank below is pumped above. In housing societies, we switch off the pump when the tank gets filled. But here, the tank overflows, sometimes for hours. I once took the issue up with the theatre manager. He assured me that the problem would not recur. But, water is still being wasted,” says Nandu Lad, a resident of a housing society right behind the theatre. Lad shared a video with mid-day that shows the tank overflowing.

Theatre manager Ajay Pandey trashes the residents’ allegation. “There is no such problem. Nobody has approached us with a complaint,” he says. On being shown the video, Pandey adds, “Sometimes, it may take us a few minutes to switch off the motor, but that’s about it. There is no leakage or wastage at all. I don’t know who has a problem with us. We operate as per the rules.”

Ghai did not respond to mid-day’s SMSes or calls. Lad plans to file a written complaint with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) if the theatre management continues to waste water.

A senior BMC official says the civic body has no jurisdiction over overflowing water tanks. “But I will look into the issue.”

A 15% water cut in residential areas, and 50% for industrial and commercial purposes have been in place since a weak monsoon last year.

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