By IANS,
Mumbai : As a fall out of the scanty rainfall season, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Monday announced that the water cuts will be extended till Aug 1, an official said.
“The average rainfall in the month of June was around 57 percent less than average rainfall. Hence a 10 percent water cut was imposed on the city from July 1,” a civic official said.
“After taking into account the rainfall of the season, till July 15, there is still a shortfall of 35 percent and hence it was decided to extend the water cuts till Aug 1,” the official added.
Even though lake levels have shown slight signs of improvement, the BMC, after assessing the situation, decided to continue the 10 percent water cut. The water cut was imposed from July 1 to tackle the depleting lake levels.
According to an estimate, the water cut imposed by the civic body has helped in increasing the water stocks, which would last for 72 days.
“The rainfall received in the catchment area has not been up to the mark and hence the extension of the water cut,” the official said.
So far, the two main stations in Mumbai have recorded rainfall of 448.3 mm in Colaba in south Mumbai and 727.3 mm in Santacruz in north Mumbai. The normal average rainfall is 2,311 mm in Colaba and 2,670 in Santacruz.
“The season’s rainfall is much less than the rainfall last year. Last year, by July 15, Colaba had seen a rainfall of 1,002.3 mm while Santacruz recorded rainfall of 1,349.1 mm,” the official said.