The expert panel will be inspecting compartment 1 of the Malabar Hill reservoir(MHR) on Monday. Because of that, the compartment will be emptied. This will affect the water supply in South Mumbai who will face a 10% water cut for a day.
BMC's Malabar Hill Reservoir reconstruction plan
The BMC has plans to build an additional tank and reconstruct the century-old reservoir beneath the iconic hanging garden. However, the civic body's proposal to hack 389 trees earmarked on the plot received stiff opposition from the residents of Malabar Hill. The residents demanded scrapping of the reconstruction proposal and repair the reservoir.
After a public hearing, an expert committee of professors from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) was formed to study the project and give a final decision. The expert panel had already visited compartment 2 A and 2 B of the reservoir on December 7. Now the committee members will be inspecting another compartment on December 18. The visit will take two hours from 8 am to 10 am., for which the tank will be emptied to allow internal inspection.
Effect on South Mumbai's water supply on Monday
This will affect the water supply in A, C, D, G North and G South wards comprising areas such as Colaba, Fort, Marine lines, Grant road, Malabar Hill, Mahim, Dharavi and Worli. The public representative expressed satisfaction with the condition of the compartment during the last visit. So, the Malabar hill residents are looking forward to the second visit of experts. The BMC has also received 149 suggestions from the citizens on the methodology to reconstruct the reservoir.
Details in brief
* The 143-year-old reservoir beneath the hanging garden supplies 147 MLD (million litres per day) of water mainly in South Mumbai.
* The proposal was approved in February 2022, at an estimated project cost of R698.50 crore.
* The project is expected to be completed by the end of 2029.
* It would increase the capacity of the reservoir from 147.78 million litres to 191 million litres.
* The reservoir has five compartments. The rest of two compartments will be inspected by the expert in the next few days.
