Despite Water Shortage, BMC Uses 15.49 Lakh Litres Of Water To Wash Roads Daily
Image for representational purpose only
The news that Mumbai would experience a 10% water cut starting in March and that the city’s lake levels are dropping was out last week. Despite this problem, the deep cleaning initiative of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde requires the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to utilise an average of 15.49 million litres of water per day to clean the roads.
This is similar to the Chief Minister’s massive beautification drive from the previous year, which cost INR 1,700 crore.
The hydraulic department of the civic body washes 422 roads, or roughly 659.09 km, every day using water from borewells and sewage treatment facilities. For the task, 211 tankers have been dispatched. Eighteen misting machines are used to alleviate dust pollution on an additional 59.5 km of roadways by spraying them with water.
Among other secondary uses, this reserve may have been utilised for firefighting, public gardens, and bathrooms.
A weekly drive began in early December to reduce dust and improve the overall cleanliness of the city and its environs. At the beginning of February, the drive was converted to a daily one. Weekly timetables are made by ward authorities for the drive, which happens every Monday between 6.30 a.m. and 2 p.m. A total of 175 metric tonnes of dust are collected every day from these 25 wards.
Prashant Tayshetye, the Chief Engineer in Charge of Solid Waste Management, stated that water is obtained for misting machines in 25 wards from at least 100 sources in order to combat air pollution. Sewage treatment plants and borewells are some of these locations.
K East ward (Andheri East, Jogeshwari East, and Vile Parle East) utilises 1.14 lakh litres of water, more than any other ward in Andheri-Juhu (1.20 lakh litres).
It is impossible to prove a direct link between extraction and depletion in this case, according to Pranjal Deekshit, Chairman of the Tata Institute of Social Science’s (TISS) Centre for Water Policy and Governance. Additionally, he emphasised that road cleaning should not be done using water that could be used for other purposes.
