The residents of Panvel City Municipal Corporation (PCMC) are heaving a sigh of relief as they have finally got some respite from the severe water scarcity they have been facing for the past three months.
After talks, the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) agreed to release 20 million litres of water every day to the PCMC as a stop-gap arrangement till the water crisis is resolved. NMMC Commissioner Dr. N. Ramaswamy said, “As per their request, we have started releasing water from Morbe dam. We haven’t decided on the duration or the cost to be paid for supplying the water. It will depend on the requirement of the residents. Our aim is to help the residents who are reeling under severe water scarcity.”
On Tuesday, 20 mld of water was released from Maharashtra Jeevan Pradhikaran, the State Water Supply and Sanitation Department. Dr. Ramaswamy said, “The water in the catchment area of PCMC is turbid as mud has got mixed due to heavy rainfall in the past two days. We hope the water will provide some relief to the residents of Panvel.”
PCMC’s request for water was initially rejected by the NMMC’s general body which met on June 19. However, NMMC mayor Sudhakhar Sonawane promised to reconsider the request after the PCMC reiterated the gravity of the water crisis.
The supply of water from the NMMC will ease the woes of the residents of Kharghar, Kamote, New Panvel and Old Panvel. Brijesh Kumar, a resident of Kharghar, said, “We have been facing water shortage for the past three months. With the NMMC now sharing its water, supply will be normal soon.” Dr. Sudhakar Shinde, PCMC administrator and commissioner, said, “The water supply will provide great relief to the residents staying within PCMC limits, especially people living in Old Panvel.”
Mangesh Ranawat, a resident of Panvel, said, “I have an office in Old Panvel. For the last two days, the water being supplied was slightly muddy. We had to use the water after boiling it and order bottled water for our employees.” The residents of Old Panvel have been facing a crisis due to low water levels at Dehran dam following poor rainfall last year. Areas falling under PCMC, but receiving services from the City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra such as Kharghar, Taloja, Kamothe, New Panvel and Kalamboli will receive 120 to 130 mld of water every day though the actual requirement is 150 mld.
Old Panvel gets 8 mld of water from Dehran dam, 9 mld from Maharashtra Jeevan Pradhikaran and 10 mld from the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation. Mr. Shinde said, “Old Panvel has a population of 1.5 lakh and the total water requirement is 30 mld. However, we are receiving only 27-28 mld.”
Officials say the reason for low supply of water from CIDCO is the ongoing road widening work at NH4 and NH4B.
The water supply is shut down to relay the water pipeline along the road. Mr. Shinde said, “It is difficult to predict till when we would require additional water from the NMMC. But on mutual agreement, the water supply will continue till the crisis is resolved.”
