Mumbai, july 13: Rain on Sunday brought a trickle of hope to the thirsting city, which had received 10 mm or less over the past two weeks.
The rain in the catchment areas in two of the key lakes, Upper Vaitarna and Bhatsa, raised the hopes of the municipal corporation. The amount is, however, not yet enough. Officials said there should be a heavy, continuous downpour in all lakes for water levels to rise.
The lake in Bhatsa had 43.40 mm and that in Upper Vaitarna 31.60 mm. The situation in lakes Modak Sagar and Tansa remains worrisome, though the level in the lakes located within Mumbai, Tulsi and Vihar, continue to rise.
“After many days there has been some good rainfall and it is a good sign,” said deputy municipal commissioner (water supply projects) Pramod Charankar.
If the region gets 70 mm everyday and the total reaches 1,000 mm in the catchment areas, it would be enough for the water level to rise, he said.
Last year, too, low rainfall had prevented the lakes from filling up till August.
If it rains as much as the civic administration is hoping for, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will call off its plans to try and induce artificial rain through cloud seeding.
The BMC has approached “rainmaker” Shantilal Meckoni, who had carried out such an experiment in 1992. If it does not rain naturally in the next few days, he will study the possibility of repeating the process in the vicinity of Tansa and Upper Vaitarna lakes.
Till then, water cuts will continue. The BMC has imposed a 30 per cent cut to residents and one of 60 per cent to around 250 bulk consumers, including hospitals, big hotels and private clubs.
–Agencies