Hindustan Times 26.02.2010
‘Don’t waste drinking water’The municipal corporation is doing all it can to ensure drinking water is not wasted in Holi revelry this year.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has instructed all ward offices not to supply potable water for Holi celebrations or rain dance events unless the water is for drinking.
Hydraulic Engineer, Vinay Deshpande, following instructions from Additional Municipal Commissioner, Anil Diggikar, issued a circular Wednesday, listing the restrictions on supplying of drinking water tankers.
“As the city is reeling under a water shortage people should avoid using drinking water for non-potable purposes, especially rain dances,” said Diggikar. “They can use non-potable water for Holi.”
A civic official requesting anonymity said a study by the BMC’s water department revealed that one person uses at least 150 litres of water on Holi.
The study said that if a person played Holi with a water gun for three hours, he or she would use 35 to 40 litres of water. About 100 litres of water is used for bathing on the day of the festival, instead of the daily average of 20 litres.
Meanwhile, Mayor Shraddha Jadhav appealed to citizens to use non-chemical colours because washing them away requires less water.
