Slum dwellers steal water from fire hydrants

MUMBAI: The Mumbai fire brigade has virtually abandoned the use of its 20,000 fire hydrants for its fire-fighting operations.
Instead, water from these hydrants, situated on the city’s pavements, is being illegally used by slum dwellers, resulting in a loss of about Rs 10 crore to the BMC.
Speaking to TNN, deputy chief fire officer Subhashchandra Dalvi said, "We no longer depend on the water supplied by the hydrants.It takes over an hour to get the required water pressure of 150 gallons per minute from a hydrant. Instead of wasting an hour, we quickly despatch our water tankers with a capacity of 16,000 litres each) to the spot and extinguish the fire within minutes."
Besides, most of the hydrants are in poor shape. "The valves are buried deep inside pavements and the hydrant is choked with garbage," Mr Dalvi pointed out. Blaming the hydraulic department for not maintaining the hydrants, he claimed that his department had taken up the issue with the hydraulic department, but in vain.
Admitting that there was large-scale pilferage of water from hydrants, deputy hydraulic engineer A.V. Deodhar said, "Is it necessary to have so many hydrants in Mumbai? We should have just a few of them at strategic locations. The remaining should be removed in order to cut down on the pilferage and the annual loss suffered by the BMC."
However, civic activist from Matunga Laxmichand Haria said the BMC should get all the hydrants repaired as it could be of immense help in an emergency. Recalling one such instance, he said, "Some years ago, a fire broke out at Shastri market in Matunga. When water in the tankers was insufficient to extinguish the fire, the firemen frantically tried to use the fire hydrant in the vicinity, but it did not function. Finally, they had to pump out water from a well to quell the blaze."
Mr Haria pointed out that while fire hydrants provide an unlimited supply of water, tankers have a limited capacity. The hydrants are connected to three-inch-thick water pipes, which enable water to flow at high pressure. Asked why the BMC was not cracking the whip on those pilfering water, Mr Deodhar said glibly, "This is not practically possible."