In an attempt to resolve the issue of irregular water supply, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will carry out a survey of the entire water supply network in Govandi and its adjoining areas in the Eastern suburbs.
The areas Govandi, Cheeta Camp, Shivaji Nagar, Anushakti Nagar and Mankhurd fall under the M East ward of the municipal body. Majority of the local residents live in slums and the entire region has an uneven topography as the Govandi-Shivaji Nagar belt is situated on the slope of a hill.
The survey of the water network will be carried out by the hydraulic engineering department of the BMC.
On March 6, the BMC initiated boring works for an underground water supply tunnel that would originate from Chembur and expand till the low and high water reservoirs of Trombay.
Senior officials of the BMC water supply department said that this water supply tunnel will improve flow of water supply in this area.
"The tunnel will provide a high pressure water supply system and would lead to uninterrupted water supply till 2061 at least," Shirish Uchagaonkar, chief engineer of BMC water supply project department, told FPJ.
Engineers of the hydraulic department said this survey will help the BMC understand the layout of the pipeline and point out the areas which have low water pressure.
"Many of those who live on elevated lands don't get adequate water supply as the flow is very weak, we will identify these spots and replace the old valves with new ones," said a senior engineer of the hydraulic department.
"The entire water supply network is many decades old, with time the population in this area has also increased, we will identify some areas which have high population and then will try to widen the water supply channels," the engineer added.
Sources in BMC also maintained that the entire survey would cost around Rs 1.40 crores to the civic body and would take at least three months to complete. Officials also said that the uneven topography of the area will be a challenge for them.
State minister - Nawab Malik, who is also the MLA of this area said that the water problem in his constituency is not new and has been there since several years now. He said despite having capacity, the reservoirs in his area don't get adequate supply.
"The high reservoir has a quota of 115 million of liter (MLD) water per day but it only gets around 100 MLD, while the low reservoir has a quota of 90 MLD while it gets around 40-45 MLD," Malik said.
