The BMC has invited a tender to lay a new water conveyance tunnel of 21km between Yevai, Kasheli in Thane and Mulund in the eastern suburbs. The new tunnel will be utilised for water supply, while the existing network of pipelines will work as a back-up. The work will be carried out in two phases and the estimated cost of the project is around Rs4,500 crore.
The proposed project
To strengthen the city’s existing water supply network, the project has been allocated Rs350 crore in the 2024-25 budget. The proposed work on the tunnel, from Kasheli to Mulund, comes in the wake of ongoing work to widen the Mumbai-Nashik highway. In addition to this, a water tunnel from Yevai Reservoir to Kasheli (Bhiwandi) will also be constructed.
The BMC’s water supply project department issued a tender on Friday for the construction of a 14 km tunnel from Yevai to Kasheli and 7km from Kasheli to Mulund. The construction work of both tunnels will take at least six to seven years. Besides having a higher capacity, the upcoming infrastructure will not be vulnerable to leakages or contamination of water. The BMC supplies 3,900 million litres of water daily (MLD) from the lakes located in Thane and Nashik districts through a network of pipelines.
“Since the pipeline is on the ground it is at the risk of getting damaged due to several ongoing development projects in Mumbai and Thane cities. The tunnel will be 100 metre below the ground, hence reducing the chances of a burst,” said a senior civic official.
The BMC has mooted building major underground tunnels between Marol and Mahim, Malabar Hill and Cross Maidan, Veravali and Yari Road, Gundavili and Bhandup Complex. Two smaller tunnels have been planned between Powai, Veravali and Ghatkopar.
