MUMBAI: With a view to meet the growing demand of water and overcome the problem of its inequitable distribution, the BMC has begun work on the country's first underground tunnel, from Malabar Hill to Cross Maidan in South Mumbai.
The Bhoomipuja ceremony for the project, took place on Tuesday in presence of Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, Shiv Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray and Mayor Shubha Raul.
The tunnel, at a depth of 70-metre below the surface, is 3.6 km long will be complete by 2011. The cost of the project is Rs 157 crore as given under the JNNURM.
The project will benefit Kalbadevi, Dhobitalao, Thakurdwar, CST, Fort, Colaba, Nariman Point and Cuffe Parade areas in South Mumbai.
Currently, the BMC provides 3,350 mld water per day to the city's 1.6 crore population. The real demand is for 4,200 mld of water.
Besides, the pipe lines in the South Mumbai are 100 years old and small in the diameter, which need to be replaced.
Mayor Shubha Raul said that presently, BMC faces 20-30 per cent of water leakage which is equal to the water supply of Pune city and the underground tunnel will prevent encroachments and water theft.
Also, there are other problems like contamination of water due to aging network and intermittent supply which peaks during monsoon. The average duration of water supply is from 20 minutes to four hours depending upon the areas.
