As usual,Rajkot looks to rain gods for its drinking water

Aware of the problem,the Rajkot Municipal Corporation (RMC) has announced it would hold a review meeting every week to take stock of water availability from its sources — the three dams of Aji-I,Nyari-I and Bhadar — besides Narmada canals.

“We expect no problems till July. But we have kept our fingers crossed in case of a delay in monsoon or any interruption in supply from Narmada canals,” said RMC Commissioner Ajay Bhadoo.

Interruption in supply from Narmada canals is not unusual in July-end when theft by farmers from open canal goes up.

Mayor Janak Kotak also said the situation was being monitored on a weekly basis even as the water level in the three dams are depleting fast.

While Rajkot requires 450 lakh gallons (LG) of water per day,the collective holding capacity of the three dams is around 2,088 million per cubic feet at present.

RMC officials say that at present,102 LG of water from Bhadar,53 from Aji-I and 78 from Nyari-I is being withdrawn. They say 110 LG of water is being withdrawn from Narmada canals daily.

In the beginning of this year,the RMC had experimented with 40 minutes of water supply in the city daily. However,the civic body had to discontinue it after complaints that due to the inadequate pressure in the pipes,the supply received at residences were quite low.

People in the city also seem to prefer the old system. “We have storage tanks on the second floor. When the water supply was for a duration of 40 minutes daily,the pressure was never enough for the water to fill the tanks on the second floor. In case of 20-minute regime,it’s fine,” said Sandhya Vyas,a resident of Housing Board on Kalawad Road.

Jamnagar shows no worry signs

Jamnagar:For a decade now,Jamnagar gets water supply every alternate day. Like Rajkot,this city with a population of around 5 lakh depends on a few local reservoirs and Narmada water for its drinking water supply.

“Till June 30,we have enough water which we can continue supplying every alternate day,” said Jamnagar Municipal Commissioner Anupam.

Jamnagar draws water from Ranjit Sagar,Sasoi and Und dams. Besides,it also gets Narmada water from Saurashtra branch canal.

“There is enough water available in these three dams. Besides,we have Narmada supply to fall back on,” added the commissioner.

Residents,however,complain about unannounced cuts in water supply. “Giving us various technical reasons like electricity failure or pumping failure,officials have imposed at least one cut per week,” said Ranjan Raval,a resident.

Meanwhile,tankers are back in 112 of the total 654 villages in Jamnagar district. These villages are located in coastal talukas of Bhanvad,Kalyanpur and Khambhalia. District panchayat authorities say while locals water resources have dried up,ground water is also not available in these areas.