This story is from March 19, 2016

Lokhandwala society to fine water use for festival of colours

Amid the alarming water scarcity facing the state, a conscientious housing society in Andheri’s Lokhandwala Complex has urged members to avoid wastage during Holi or face a fine of Rs 2,000
Lokhandwala society to fine water use for festival of colours
Mumbai: Amid the alarming water scarcity facing the state, a conscientious housing society in Andheri’s Lokhandwala Complex has urged members to avoid wastage during Holi or face a fine of Rs 2,000.
Neptune Apartment in Fourth Cross Lane pasted the warning on its notice board on March 18: “All of Mumbai and Maharashtra is facing a water shortage and we are just about managing with great difficulty.
Just because taps have 24/7 water, it does not mean we let it flow. Responsible members are requested to keep this in mind (not to forget farmers’ suicides) and celebrate a water-free Holi. If anybody is found to waste water, a fine of Rs 2,000 will be charged per instance.”
Manager Tushar Ruke said, “A civic official named Bankar from the K-West Ward office visited us and requested us to relay the gravity of the crisis to our members. He said they were going to every society in the area and pleading with residents to play Holi with dry colour instead.”
The warning of penalty is aimed at creating awareness, especially among children who use large pichkaris filled with half a litre of water. “We may not impose the fine but will certainly manage to control water wastage,” he said.
Neptune counts among those societies in Lokhandwala that were paying thousands of rupees for water tankers until recently, and therefore its residents value this resource.
The society has dug a borewell in the garden whose water is used for flushing the toilet.
“The borewell helps save at least 15,000 litres of BMC water each day. Each flushing of the tank uses 15 litres of water. If an average family of four uses the toilet five times a day, we lose 300 litres per flat. We have 68 flats in the building so that amounts to 20,400 litres. All this is now taken care of by borewell water,” said Tushar who understands the situation only too well. He lives in Mira Road where their society receives water once every four days.
Residents had contemplated rain water harvesting but lack of space to install an underground storage tank played a spoilsport. “We barely have adequate parking lots for members’ cars, so it is impossible to find 500 square feet of open space for the tank,” Tushar said.
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