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Water Supply

Protests over scrapping of water scarcity zone

Friday, 31 August 2012 07:01 administrator
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The Times of India    31.08.2012

Protests over scrapping of water scarcity zone

PUNE: The state government's decision to throw open 332.62 hectares in the 23 merged villages of the Pune Municipal Corporation for full-fledged construction has not gone down well with citizens' groups and environmentalists.

They have voiced their protests at the ongoing meeting where suggestions for and objections to the changes made by the government in the draft development plan, last December, are being heard. State town planning deputy director Avinash Patil is hearing the groups.

Their primary concern is how the civic body will meet the water needs of these areas once high-rises come up when the zone was recommended because of the scarcity. Moreover, they said, the city is facing water shortage and this time, water cuts are likely to stay till the next monsoon.

The state government scrapped the water scarcity zones claiming that the situation in these localities had improved in the last few years. "The decision will have serious consequences," said urban planner Anita Gokhale Benninger. She has submitted her objection to the scrapping of the zone.

Patil said that he plans to visit the sites. "I will verify the ground situation and make a presentation to the state government," he added`.
Last Updated on Friday, 31 August 2012 07:04
 

Urban water needs growing, says state revenue minister

Friday, 31 August 2012 06:54 administrator
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The Times of India     31.08.2012

Urban water needs growing, says state revenue minister

PUNE: Less water will be available for irrigation in the coming years as the demand for water from urban areas will continue to grow due to rapid urbanization in the state, said state revenue minister Balasaheb Thorat.

He was speaking at the valedictory function of a state-level seminar organized on 'Maharashtra Economy: Challenges and Prospects' at Fergusson College, here on Thursday.

Thorat said, "The irrigation facilities in the state are slowly improving and demand for water from urban areas is growing. The state has not achieved its irrigation potential. The current area under irrigation is merely 17% when there is a potential to irrigate area up to 33% in the state. The growing demand for water from cities is a major hurdle and there is a little possibility of the demand reducing in future. As per my estimate, it is possible to provide irrigation only to 25% of the total agricultural land in the state, while 75% will remain non-irrigated in future."

He also spoke about excess use of water in Pune city. Thorat said, "Compared to any city in the state, Pune gets maximum water per person. The actual calculation also shows that more water is lifted from the dams supplying drinking water to the city. The total consumption of water in Pune city is 16 TMC, which is more than its actual requirement."

Thorat also pointed out that urbanization was inevitable and we needed to be ready for it with proper planning. Industrialization, spread of educational institutions and the boom of service sector was turning towns into cities and mega cities.

"There were five crore people in the state in 1960; the number increased to 11.5 crore in 2011. This has also changed the economy of the state with more revenue coming from service sector, industries, commercial establishments and finally from agriculture sector. The current growth in the state should be linked to its geographical features. Though there are maximum dams in western Maharashtra, very few are full and there is a pressure to strike a balance between water for irrigation and non-irrigation purposes such as drinking, industries and thermal power plants," Thorat said.

Last Updated on Friday, 31 August 2012 06:56
 

One new water tank on cards for every Patna Municipal Corporation ward

Friday, 31 August 2012 06:51 administrator
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The Times of India     31.08.2012

One new water tank on cards for every Patna Municipal Corporation ward

PATNA: Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC) is to identify one place in each of the 72 wards for construction of new water tanks to tackle the problem of erratic water supply in the state capital.The urban development and housing board has allotted Rs 534 crore for the purpose. The PMC has to allot land and the Bihar Urban Infrastructure Development Corporation (BUDCO) would construct and maintain the tanks. A new underground pipeline would be laid in a stretch of 900,000 metres.

The project is supposed to be completed by April 1, 2014.According to data available with the Jal Parshad, 62,500 water connections have been registered in the PMC area having a population of 16,83,200.A PMC official said, "The new water tanks would be 40-feet high with a storage capacity of 25 lakh litres each." He further said the PMC has already marked places in 32 wards for constructing the water tanks. Renovation of the old water tank near the Jal Parshad office in the New Capital Circle has been already started.There are 19 water tanks of which only 18 are in working condition.

"The existing water tanks fail to supply sufficient water due to old machines. The tanks were erected during the British rule," said a Jal Parshad official.He said there is only one water tank near the Secretariat to supply water in the entire area. "The construction of new water tanks would ensure uninterrupted water supply despite power cuts," he said.

We try to meet the demand of 56 lakh gallons of water per hour by discharging 58 lakh gallons from the 96 pumps. But the damaged pipeline leads to wastage of water, a fact which creates the scarcity," said RK Verma, chief engineer, PMC.

Last Updated on Friday, 31 August 2012 06:53
 
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