BMC mulls water cut from next month

Mumbai: BMC is likely to consider imposing a water cut from May amid IMD's forecast of a below-normal monsoon. The stock in the seven lakes supplying water to Mumbai on Monday stood at 4.2 lakh million litres—28.8% of the total capacity, slightly higher than 25.7% recorded on the same date last year.Additional municipal commissioner Abhijit Bangar said no decision has been taken yet, but a water cut cannot be ruled out. "A communication issued by the water resources department in March cited IMD forecasts indicating the possible impact of El Niño and the Indian Ocean dipole, which could result in below-normal rainfall this year. It directed existing guidelines on water usage and reservoir management must be strictly followed, with a focus on judicious and economical use of available stocks, prioritising drinking water," he said. Mumbai has a daily water requirement of 4,200 million litres per day (MLD). BMC is supplying around 3,900 MLD at present. TNN