As the BJP which single-handedly rules the Mira Bhayandar Municipal Corporation (MBMC) is gearing up to launch a massive agitation to register their protest against the water crisis, the civic administration has taken a crucial step of not only refraining from imposing any type of shutdowns but also ensuring that all technical snags are repaired and rectified on a war footing.
Two consecutive shutdowns by one of the providers followed by an equal number of major pipe bursts had led to an acute shortage of water in the twin city last week. The water scarcity triggered a blame game between the BJP and Shiv Sena followed by a series of agitations by local political parties which have continued, seemingly for electoral gains.
Meanwhile, the civic administration led by commissioner Dilip Dhole has rolled up its sleeves to ensure uninterrupted water supply, especially during the upcoming festive season. In a joint meeting held with officials from the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) and Shahad Temghar (STEM) water supply authority, the commissioner urged both the providers to refrain from imposing any type of shutdowns and also to ensure that any type of technical snags are repaired and rectified on an immediate basis.
Apart from installing independent feeders to facilitate power supply for pumping water during outages, the MBMC has also decided to conduct a third party water audit to plug in-transit leakages and thefts. As against the requirement of over 225 MLD, the twin city has an allotted supply of 211 MLD provided jointly by the MIDC (125 MLD) and STEM (86 MLD) water supply authority.
However, the actual supply hovers around below 200 MLD as the civic administration still loses a huge quantity of potable water in transit on a daily basis owing to leakages, unaccounted supply and theft.
The audit will not only weed out illegal connections but also expose commercial exploitation of water by establishments under the guise of residential use. At present, the loss in the water supply system is much higher than the permissible limit.
