The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will carry out the repair works of the water supply network in several areas in the western suburbs after complaints from local residents and elected public representatives on the issue.
Mumbaikars living in areas like Bandra, Khar, Ville Parle, Juhu and Andheri have been experiencing low water pressure since last month. Many of these areas are situated on elevated lands and residents have said that the issue of low water pressure is a regular issue in their areas for the past few years. Asif Zakaria, local Congress corporator from H west (Bandra west) ward has already written to the BMC commissioner on the issue.
Zakaria said that while the water crisis continues, engineers of the hydraulic department have been unable to locate the issue.
"The water pressure is not being increased from the Mahim supply station that supplies water in these areas. The water pressure should have been between 11-12 pounds, while the average water pressure remains at 5-6 pounds," Zakaria told FPJ on Monday.
Meanwhile, the BMC) had announced last week that it will undertake repair works of a valve in the Veravalli water reservoir that would affect the water supply between Andheri and Bandra areas. Zakaria, however, said that this repair works will not help in restoring the water pressure in his constituency.
Senior officials of the civic body have maintained that they have chalked out a plan by identifying the areas that have been facing low water supply frequently. The officials have said that often pressure of water becomes low due to the supply pipelines getting clogged.
"We have identified and marked areas that are facing low pressure for some time now. Our guess is the pipelines might be clogged or the pumps need replacement. After assessing the real problem we will initiate repair works," said the official.
He said that the repair works will be taken in a phased manner to ensure water supply is not disrupted over a large area at a specific time. The official also maintained that most of the areas that are facing low water pressure are located in elevated lands.
"Some of the supply stations don't have boosters to enable fast water supply in elevated lands. We are working on adding boosters to some of the pumps that supply water to these elevated areas and may ease the problem of low water pressure," said the official.
