Hindustan Times 10.03.2010
Water Scarcity: Blame it on the rainsMaharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief, Raj Thackeray, may have blamed migrants for the unprecedented water crisis in the city. But the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has always maintained that poor rainfall in 2009 is the cause.
The BMC has imposed a 15 per cent water cut on residential users and 30 per cent on commercial users to ensure that the stock in the six lakes that supply water to the city lasts until the next monsoon.
“This year, there was 25 per cent deficit in rainfall. The corporation was left with no choice but to introduce water cuts so that we can continue to supply water until July 15,” said Additional Municipal Commissioner, Anil Diggikar.
Without cuts, the city gets 3,400 million litres of water every day (MLD). This is 800 MLD less than its demand of 4,300 MLD. The BMC now supplies the city only 2,900 MLD.
