Bhopal: Take note, Upper Lake can ensure water supply for ten more days. Over 6 lakh residents of old city, Bairagarh and BHEL areas, where water is supplied from Upper Lake are likely to witness a chaotic scenes in the coming days. With water in the lake depleting fast and supply falling short, people flocking tankers would be a common site. After a gap of nine years, water will be supplied through tankers in these areas.
In the next coming says the city would have to face acute water shortage as water supply from the lake will be discontinued. Water from Upper Lake is supplied in old city areas except Hamidia road, Chhola Mandir Road and Bairasia road. BHEL and Bairagarh, which also heavily depend on the lake water are staring at dry days ahead. Residents of the areas which solely depending on Upper lake and do not have water supply from Kolar or Narmada would be worst affected.
Since water level in the Upper Lake has reached 1652.50 feet, merely. 50 feet away from the danger mark, supply from it can only be continued for hardly 10-more days. Currently it is meeting water requirement of over 6 lakh residents, which comes to around 30 per cent of city’s population.
The civic body was earlier drawing 30 MGD water from the lake not his has been cut down to 23 MGD and in next coming days it is likely to go further down to as low as 7 MGD, as it happened in 2009.
Around a decade back, water level had gone alarming low forcing the BMC to supply water on alternate days. Facing acute shortage, the civic body resorted to supplying 7 MGD water against supply 30 MGD.
How grim the situation year is could be gauged from the fact that last summer water level had touched 1659, while this year it has already reached 1652.50. The BMC will then have no other option but to supply water from borewells and other water bodies through tankers.
On the other hand, most of the borewells have either been closed down or have fallen into hand of influential persons. Mayor Alok Sharma has though initiated a drive of getting borewells back under municipal control, however, still it is a far cry.
