Mumbai: After a wait of three years, the BMC's plan to divert the overflowing water from Vihar lake to the filtration plant at Bhandup complex has gained pace. The civic body has sent a quotation of prospective bidders for evaluation to the consultant company.
The work is expected to start post monsoon. However, the construction of the pumping station and laying pipelines will take at least a year. So the project will actually benefit the city from the next monsoon, said the civic sources.
Seven lakes of Mumbai
Currently, the seven lakes have 81% of the water stock of their total capacity. Even though the BMC has withdrawn a 10% water cut, the city may have to face water shortage if the lakes do not have 14.47 lakh million litres of water in stock on October 1. To face such water crises, the BMC came up with an idea to construct a pumping station with a capacity of 200 million litres per day (MLD) at the shore of the Vihar lake. The excess water will not only add to the daily supply of the city during the monsoon, but will also give relief to the areas such as Kurla, Sion, Mahim, Matunga, Chunabhatti, Vakola that are affected by the Mithi river.
"Three prospective bidders have sent their quotation to the BMC. The estimated cost of the project is around ₹58 crores while the bidders have quoted above the estimated rates. So their quotation has been sent to a consultant to evaluate the rates. Based on their reports, the final decision will be taken and a work order is expected to be issued in October," said civic sources.
Vihar lake overflows
Heavy rainfall leading to the overflowing of Vihar lake has caused a rise in the water level of the 17.8-km-long Mithi river several times during every monsoon. So, as per the suggestion of a consultant appointed in 2020 to study the feasibility of the project, the excess water will be diverted into the pumping station, which will be further transferred to the water treatment plant through a one km pipeline to the Bhandup complex.
The filtered water will then be added to the water supply of the city during the monsoon. The pumping station will be more effective when the city observes rainfall around 150 to 200 mm a day. The BMC is also trying to evaluate the quantity of rain water that will be discharged into Mithi after Vihar lake starts overflowing.
