The Singur reservoir water crisis has prompted the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWSSB) to plan a 20 to 50 per cent reduction in water supply to the Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad, Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited, the Ordnance Factory and Bharat Dynamics Limited in the coming days.
The decision has been taken as storage in the reservoir, one of the sources supplying parts of Hyderabad, has fallen sharply. HMWSSB sources told Telangana Today that the affected organisations had been asked to make alternative arrangements for their water requirements until next June, when fresh inflows into Singur are expected.
Singur currently holds 3.70 TMCft of water against its full storage capacity of 29.91 TMCft. The level has reduced the reservoir’s ability to support both institutional and urban water needs. The HMWSSB draws water from Singur to supply parts of Hyderabad as well as the industrial and institutional facilities named in the report.
To meet immediate drinking-water requirements, Singur irrigation officials released 0.150 TMCft of water into the Manjeera river. The Manjeera reservoir, however, also has limited storage, holding only 0.200 TMCft of water, according to the report.
The restrictions are also extending to industrial users in the Sangareddy region. Although officials did not provide complete details of supplies to beer companies, sources said water deliveries to beverage companies had been gradually reduced. One beverage company was still receiving 5,000 litres of water on Monday, the report said.
Water supplies to chemical companies had recently been stopped because of the shortage in the reservoirs. The decisions indicate that the water board is prioritising immediate drinking-water requirements while reducing supplies to industrial and institutional users during the current shortage.
The affected institutions have been asked to arrange alternative sources until the expected arrival of fresh inflows next June. The instruction places the immediate responsibility for continuity of operations on the organisations, although the report does not specify the alternative sources available to them or the exact daily quantities currently supplied by the HMWSSB.
The Singur reservoir’s present storage is about one-eighth of its full capacity, while the Manjeera reservoir is holding a much smaller volume. The report said the situation could worsen in the coming days and that Singur was expected to run dry within a month. No revised schedule for the supply reductions or details of further restrictions were provided in the report.
The next operational steps will involve the affected institutions making alternative water arrangements and the HMWSSB managing supplies through the expected period of shortage. Fresh inflows into Singur are anticipated next June, according to the information attributed to HMWSSB sources.
