This summer, Mumbai faces a water cut of 10 per cent, its fourth in a decade. The average rainfall that Mumbai receives every year has been steadily dropping. In 2008, we received 2,508 mm of water. Last year, that figure dropped to 2,009.45 mm.

It wasn’t sufficient to fill to capacity the seven lakes which store the water supplied to the city. Until May 9, the lake levels had only 15 per cent of live stock water — 2,21,265 million litres. An additional 1,70,000 million litres is in reserve which the state government has allowed us to use.

Yet, this situation could have been avoided if only the BMC and the state government had implemented their own plans. In 2008, the then state government had considered setting up desalination plants in the city. However, nothing was done.

In 2016 — after the current government appointed a high power committee to look at the feasibility of the project — the plan was struck down owing to high costs and huge land usage.

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