The Hindu : Timely monsoon is the only hope

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, May 29, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Andhra Pradesh-Hyderabad

Timely monsoon is the only hope

By K.V.S.Madhav

HYDERABAD May 28. The Hyderabad Metro Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWSSB) officials are in a quandary thanks to the "conflicting reports'' about the advent of the South West monsoon.

All their hopes are hinged on the timely, if not an early, arrival of the monsoon to tide over the grave water supply position of the twin cities and the surrounding municipalities.

The city is presently in the grip of the worst water crisis with two of its major sources rendered useless -- Osmansagar had dried up and Himayatsagar is on the verge of drying up with water enough for only a few days left in it.

The focus now is on the Himayatsagar command area that covers several parts of the Old City that could be affected by the draining out of its major source.

``There is no way we can augment the supplies as on today. All we are trying to do is ensure equitable distribution of the available water through minor interventions and interconnections. Any augmentation, for now, is solely dependent on the monsoon,'' said the HMWSSB Managing Director, M.G. Gopal.

Amidst doubts about the Board's Rs. 15.65-crore contingency plan to supply water to the Himayatsagar Command Area by diverting the Singur supplies, reaching it in time - the reservoir is expected to go dry by June 15 - he exuded confidence that the works can be completed in 15 to 20 days.

The Commissioner, Relief, had reportedly cleared the contingency plan and forwarded it to the Finance department on Monday. "We are expecting the funds to be released in two or three days. Meanwhile, we have decided to go ahead with procurement of material in anticipation of release of funds,'' Mr. Gopal maintained.

While the present supplies are to the tune of 130 Million Gallons per day, it would be reduced to 116 MGD once Himayatsagar dries up. "This translates to a straight 15 per cent cut in the existing supplies,'' he said.

This brings to the fore the crucial aspect of possible changes in the present alternate day supply system to ensure water reaches all the localities equally. But, the Board officials are tightlipped on the matter. "Any such decision has to be taken at the Government level,'' is what they are prepared to say.

The Singur waters are sufficient to last till December only but the Board officials expect inflows into it could be good as "it is invariably in a spate upstream in Maharashtra every year''. In addition to this, Krishna waters - when the river receives good inflows - are also expected to reach the city by March, next year. But, a good monsoon is what the mandarins of HMWSSB are hoping for to reduce the pressure on them.

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