Expensive desalinated water for your toilets!

Sena-BJP's promise if they get elected in the civic polls
MANOJ R NAIR

IT DOES not matter if some areas in Mumbai do not get enough water to drink.
Shiv Sena's manifesto for the coming civic elections promises expensive
desalinated water to flush your toilets.

    The draft of the party's manifesto says that if voted back to power,
they will set up plants to desalinate sea water. What the manifesto does not
mention is the prohibitive cost of supplying desalinated water. According to
one estimate, it costs Rs 50 to 80 to produce 1,000 litres of desalinated
water, nearly 10 times the cost of bringing regular water to city homes.

    The party also seems to be unaware of the fact that three years ago, the
BMC had rejected a proposal to instal a desalination plant, saying the cost
was too high.

    Former BMC hydraulic engineer Deepak Kumar Kajbaje said that
desalination being very expensive, projects to desalinate sea water has not
been sucessful in many parts of the world. "Even in Singapore which lacks
fresh water supplies, desalinated water contributes to only 20 per cent of
the city's supply. The rest of the water is imported from Malaysia," he
said.

    However, Anand Deodhar, another former hydraulic engineer supported the
concept. "This is the need of the future because the city is running out of
water resources. We will have to make more use of water harvesting and
desalination," he said. The manifesto is expected to be released on Tuesday.

SENA-BJP MANIFESTO Sufficient water supply Making well water usable and
cleaning up of ponds. No potholes Playgrounds free of encroachments. Better
medical facilities at BMC hospitals. Thrust on employment-oriented
educational courses. Solar power lighting at playgrounds. Generation of
power from waste.

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