HL: Water crisis leaves Thane residents high and dry
Strap: Optimum utilisation of water a possible solution, claim TMC officials

Shubhangi Ghadi

The implementation of 20% water cut in Thane from Thursday has left the residents high and dry. The officials, however, claim that optimum utilisation of available water and avoiding the wastage of water completely can help control the situation from worsening further.
Madhav Javade, chief, water department, TMC, said, "The Thane district has received 25% less rainfall as compared to the previous years. Along with 24-hour water cut on one day of the week, a two-hour water cut too will be imposed on the remaining six days of the week in all areas across the city."
Currently, Thane city gets 420 Million Litres Daily (MLD) of water from Bhatsa dam and Barvi dam. The raw water received from the two sources is then processed by authorities such as Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC), Shahad Temghar water supply authority (Stem), and Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).
The total requirement of water supply in Thane city is 400 MLD. Considering the ever increasing population of Thane city, which has risen from 12 lakh in 2001 to 17 lakh in 2009, the water supply has not shown a considerable hike. While MIDC supplies 80 MLD of water to areas such as Diva, Mumbra and Kalwa, Stem supplies 110 MLD of water to the remaining parts of the city. TMC's independent water supply scheme provides 170 MLD of water which is again supplied to all parts of the city except Diva, Mumbra and Kalwa. BMC supplies 60 MLD of water which is then supplied to Kopri.
Regions such as Wagle Estate, Indira Nagar and Ghodbunder Road have been affected by water crisis. The requirement of water per person as per national standards is 150 litres per person per day.
According to TMC officials, with the uncertainty in the pattern of rainfall, people should try to make optimum use of water.
Though the TMC inaugurated its 110 MLD water project to augment the water supply in August, the failure of monsoon worsened the situation. TMC's efforts of rain water harvesting too hardly showed any positive results. So, the TMC is now planning to introduce several measures such as telescopic rates of water, universal metering system, plugging the leakages in the city's water supply, mass water consumption system and recycling of water.
g_shubhangi@dnaindia.net
THE EVENT
Owing to the shortage in the resources, the state government's irrigation department has asked the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) to impose a cut in the water supply. The TMC has accordingly started executing the orders from November 1. The water cuts will continue till July 15, 2010

CONSEQUENCES
Meanwhile, the TMC also plans to act strict with the developers using drinking water or tanker water for construction purposes. Madhav Javade, chief, water department, TMC, said, "We have decided to disconnect any drinking water connection provided for construction purposes. All the illegal water connections in the city will also be severed this month. We are in the process of forming a special team for the purpose." A criminal case will be filed against person found guilty of using an illegal water connection
DETAILS OF WATER CUT IN THE CITY

Water authority Quantity of water supplied Days of 24-hour water cut Areas where water is supplied

MIDC 80 Friday Diva, Mumbra and Kalwa
STEM 110 Wednesday Except Diva, Mumbra and Kalwa all other parts of the city
TMC 170 Wednesday Except Diva, Mumbra and Kalwa all other parts of the city
BMC 60 Not decided Kopri

WATER STATS
Total water supplied by TMC: 420 MLD
Water available: 420 MLD
Existing population: 17 lakh
Water requirement per person per day: 150 litres per person per day

Water connections in city
Total water connections: 88,619
Residential connections: 85,093
Commercial connections: 3,526

Rates for water supplied by TMC:
Residential: Rs160 per month per flat and Rs80 per slum for supplying water
Commercial: Ranging from Rs30 to Rs140 per thousand litres