The News Review:
- Water supply to Mumbai shut down for 24 hours
- Civic bodies asked to take steps to increase water supply
- Bursts hit Christmas water supply
- Water supply disrupted again
- Desalination plant for Gwadar to cost Rs700m
Water supply to Mumbai shut down for 24 hours
International Herald Tribune – Dec 27, 2006
Fire services stored water for emergencies, hospitals rescheduled operations and hotel guests were asked to reuse towels and sheets. The water supply was cut off at 10:00 a. (0630 GMT) for a planned period of 24-hours to allow engineers to lay kilometers (miles) of new pipes to improve the water distribution network. Mumbai, formerly known as Bombay, currently receives about 3. 2 billion liters (845 million gallons) of water a day but needs close to 3…
Many city residents, particularly those who live in slums, do not have piped water in their homes and rely on communal taps or pumps. The cut was well publicized ahead of time allowing people to prepare and stockpile water. Hospitals rescheduled non-emergency operations and asked visitors not to use water. “We have instructed our doctors to not perform any operations except for emergency surgery.
Civic bodies asked to take steps to increase water supply
Hindu – Dec 27, 2006
The Chief Minister observed that there should not be any dearth of funds to launch or complete the water schemes since a huge budget of Rs 5,357 crores was set aside under JNNRUM to improve drinking, sanitation, healthcare and housing facilities, especially in slums. Out of this, Rs 2,509 crores was to come from the Centre. Schemes Dr Reddy said 54 water supply schemes had been taken up at a cost of Rs. 580 crores to improve drinking water supply in major towns like Warangal, Ongole and Vizianagaram. A press note issued by the Chief Minister’s Office said the Centre had sanctioned 36 projects under JNNURM with an outlay of Rs 1,883 crores covering Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, and Vijayawada.
Bursts hit Christmas water supply
BBC News – Dec 27, 2006
The first burst on Lonsdale Road on Christmas Eve, and the second on Hill Lane on Christmas Day, were both repaired by Tuesday. There was a third burst on Boxing Day in the Rifford Road area. Emergency water tankers and bowsers were brought in and the supply there was restored on Wednesday afternoon. In a statement, the company said: “South West Water would like to apologise for the bursts and any inconvenience this may have caused.
Water supply disrupted again
Hindu – Dec 27, 2006
Shortly after water supply was restored after disruption on Christmas day, the pipe ruptured again. A meeting of the standing committee chairmen decided on Tuesday to make alternative arrangements provide water supply to the residents. Therambil Ramakrishnan, MLA, on Tuesday alleged that Mayor R. Bindu was ignoring the problems of the public…
Shortly after water supply was restored after disruption on Christmas day, the pipe ruptured again. A meeting of the standing committee chairmen decided on Tuesday to make alternative arrangements provide water supply to the residents. Therambil Ramakrishnan, MLA, on Tuesday alleged that Mayor R. Bindu was ignoring the problems of the public.
Desalination plant for Gwadar to cost Rs700m
Pakistan Dawn – Dec 27, 2006
The objective would be to get a fully foreign assembled plant with sufficient warrantee from a reliable and experienced supplier, who can also guarantee ready supply of spare parts and can promptly deal with emergencies. The cost of two – train plant with accessories and allied civil, electrical and mechanical works, including departmental charges contingencies, and consultancy, is estimated as Rs700 million. The future demand of water supply will be met partly by recycling of waste water (irrigation and industrial cooling) and partly by the desalination plant. At present there is no water resource available in the area. The Balochistan government has provided 3,000 acres of land through two separate allotment letters, out of which 20 acres land will be made available free of cost through the Gwadar Industrial Estate to set up water desalination plant, intake work, storage tanks and other facilities. The total cost of water supply from the plant (including depreciation) will be Rs0. 25 per gallon against the cost of water supplied by tankers at Rs0…
At present there is no water resource available in the area. The Balochistan government has provided 3,000 acres of land through two separate allotment letters, out of which 20 acres land will be made available free of cost through the Gwadar Industrial Estate to set up water desalination plant, intake work, storage tanks and other facilities. The total cost of water supply from the plant (including depreciation) will be Rs0. 25 per gallon against the cost of water supplied by tankers at Rs0. The total saving on full production of two million gallons will be Rs219 million per annum. However, the decision to install plant is the need based and not return based.