Monsoon starts in Mumbai, but water woes not over yet

The moment eagerly awaited by the parched city is finally here. Following a breezy shower in most parts of the city on Friday morning, the Indian Meteorological Department officially announced the onset of the south west monsoon. In fact, the IMD has forecast very heavy rainfall in the next 48 hours.

To cope with the situation, the civic body has put its staff on alert. The officers have been asked to report on duty on Saturday, despite it being a holiday.

After last year’s disappointment, the monsoon has started off on a sturdy note this time. Though 49 trees were uprooted by the first spell, no water-logging or flooding incidents were reported. It rained heavily in the catchments of the six reservoirs, and though there was no major rise in lake levels, the water content in these lakes saw a collective increase of 550 million litres. It rained the most in the Upper Vaitarna and Bhatsa catchments, which account for a lion’s share of the city’s water supply.

While Upper Vaitarna recorded a rainfall of 75mm, Bhatsa witnessed 65 mm of rainfall. A rainfall of 43mm was recorded in the Modak Sagar catchment, whereas the Vihar, Tansa and Tulsi catchments witnessed 59mm, 39mm and 37mm of rainfall respectively. “It is certainly a good beginning,” said municipal commissioner Swadhin Kshatriya. He was, however, quick to add that the water woes of the city are far from over.

Additional municipal commissioner Anil Diggikar said that the water stock available in the reservoirs is still 1.5 lakh million litres below last year’s mark. Diggikar added that the water cuts will continue for the time being.

With the onset of the monsoon, the preparedness of the municipal corporation to mitigate flooding, which has become an annual occurrence, will be put to test. Kshatriya asserted that the civic body is more or less rain-ready. While expressing satisfaction about the overall quality of the pre-monsoon drain cleansing work, the municipal commissioner cited concerns about the work carried out at some of the culverts passing through the central and harbour railway routes. He added that the civic officials and railway authorities are coordinating efforts to get rid of the troublesome spots.

Kshatriya urged citizens to report areas where the drain cleansing work is not satisfactory. “The local ward office or the BMC control rooms (02222694727/25) should be contacted,” he said.