Mumbai: Taking note of the intense summer heat, increasing pressure on water resources and complaints received from citizens regarding water supply, Mumbai Mayor Ritu Tawde held detailed discussions with senior officers of the Municipal Corporation Water Department. The Mayor has directed to implement more effective measures to ensure uninterrupted and smooth water supply to the people of Mumbai while properly managing the currently available water resources. Mayor Ritu Tawde mentioned that the demand for water is continuously increasing due to the growing population in Mumbai. In the backdrop of climate change, it has become imperative to manage water supply in a more sustainable and multifaceted manner, keeping in mind the uncertainty of rainfall. In addition, in the current situation, the intensity of summer has also started increasing. In this regard, the Mayor has expressed the need to focus on revitalizing traditional water sources, exploring alternative water sources and making extensive efforts for water conservation and protection through active participation of citizens. In this context, Mayor Ritu Tawde has directed to immediately collect updated information about all government and private wells and boreholes in Mumbai and check their working condition. During the water shortage due to low rainfall in 2009, the Municipal Corporation had repaired wells for public consumption and provided water to the citizens. On this basis, the performance of all wells should be checked at present and necessary steps should be taken to immediately make these wells functional on priority basis. Mayor Tawde has also directed that the extent to which clean drinking water can be used from these wells should be studied on the basis of tests and its use should be planned accordingly instead of limiting it to gardening or cleaning. Meanwhile, given the increasing demand for water in Mumbai, it is important for private housing societies to actively participate in this process and cooperate with the administration. Housing societies should regularly maintain, repair and clean the wells and well pipes in their area and install necessary systems for water purification. Also, it is important to ensure that groundwater is extracted as per the rules and within sustainable limits. Rainwater harvesting is a very important measure to avoid water shortages in the future, and all housing societies should implement such a system in their area. This will help maintain the groundwater level and this measure will prove effective for long-term water security, Mayor Tawde has appealed. In Ghatkopar, where I live, a system of recharging rainwater, a system of purifying well water and supplying it to all the flats, all these have already been implemented. Others should follow suit. Efforts to ensure water supply should be comprehensive. For this, coordinated participation of citizens, housing societies and the industrial sector along with the administration is necessary. Mayor Ritu Tawde has also made a humble appeal that everyone should make a joint effort to avoid water wastage, increase recycling and adopt water conservation habits.

Mumbai: Police has returned stolen equipment and mobile phones seized in various theft cases to their rightful owners. After recovering stolen equipment from police stations Nirmal Nagar, BKC, Vakola, Kherwadi, Vile Parle, Sahar under the jurisdiction of Zone 8, the police today returned mobile phones worth over Rs 84 lakh, stolen motorcycles and vehicles to their rightful owners. DCP Zone 8 Manish Kalwaniya said that the police keeps organizing such programs in which stolen goods are distributed and these goods are handed over to their original owners. He said that every four months, their goods are returned to the original owners. In this, most of the stolen mobile phones have been recovered. After the recovery of the stolen mobile phones, the happiness of the citizens and victims has doubled as they had given up hope and hope regarding their goods. 277 stolen mobile phones have also been returned today. These mobile phones were recovered after technical investigation, along with the vehicles and stolen goods were also returned.

The pace of desilting work in all three parts of Mumbai Methi River and major and minor drains of Mumbai must be accelerated. Priority should be given to areas where rainwater accumulates and its drainage should be done with proper planning. Necessary action should be taken in respect of flood prone areas and this should be done in such a way that it is remedied. Strict planning should be made for when the work will start and end on a drain-wise basis. This information should be available on the dashboard of the Municipal Corporation carrying out drain cleaning. So that the citizens can get information about when the work of cleaning drains in their area will start and end. It should be ensured that the targets of the work to be done on a drain-wise basis are fixed every day and its strict implementation should be ensured. The contractor should provide the latest information about how much machinery is expected to be used by the contractor as per the terms and conditions of the tender and how much machinery is available daily. This information should also be displayed on the computer system (dashboard) of the drain cleaning. To prevent floating waste flowing on water in drains from entering the sea, wherever possible, a floating waste interceptor system (trash boom system) should be installed, various instructions issued by Additional Municipal Corporation Commissioner (Projects) Abhijit Bangar have said. The Mumbai Municipal Corporation administration is emphasizing on careful planning to complete the drain and river cleaning work in Mumbai within the stipulated time frame. In this regard, the work of removing silt from small and big drains has been started in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. In this context, Additional Municipal Commissioner (Projects) Abhijit Bangar personally visited and inspected the ongoing drain cleaning work in the Methi River and Eastern Suburbs yesterday (April 3, 2026). The Municipal Corporation has started the silt removal work from March 12, 2026. Work has started at five locations under three packages on the Methi River in the Eastern Suburbs. Three of these locations (Connector Bridge, MMRDA office (Jitavan Udyan) in Bandra-Kurla Complex area and near Ambani School) were visited by Bangar today. He also visited Boundary Nallah in Milind East (T Division) and Soumya Nallah in Ghatkopar (N Division). He also gave necessary instructions. Along with this, Bangar also said that the silt removal work should be done in collaboration with local public representatives and their suggestions should be taken seriously. The process of silt removal from large and small drains including the Methi River is underway. It is expected that the entire scheduled work will be completed by May 31, 2026. There is a computer system for continuous monitoring of the progress of drain cleaning. It should be done on daily updated information.

A total of five locations of the Methi River are being effectively desilted. The work will be done in three packages. Bangar visited the Connector Bridge near the Methi River in Bandra-Kurla Complex. At that time, he said that the places for desilting should be planned along the entire length of the Methi River. It should be ensured that where there is dense population and where the bed of the Methi River is narrow, the cleaning of the drains will be done more carefully. The targets for cleaning the drains must be completed in the next 57 days. For this, the work should be planned and implemented according to the day, the bed of the Methi River is wide in the MMRDA office (Jitavan Adyan) in the Bandra-Kurla Complex area. The work of desilting from this place has been accelerated. It should be ensured that no illegal obstacles are erected at this place. Bangar also said that if found, strict action will be taken against the concerned. Sludge is being removed from the Methi River near Ambani School Bangar said here that if the sludge is removed through modern experiments along with traditional technology, then such experiments will be welcomed. The work of the contractor appointed to remove the sludge from the Methi River should be properly checked. After confirming that the contractor has done the sludge removal work properly and within the stipulated time, payment should be made on time. There should be no delay in this. However, while doing so, it is important to pay attention to the quality of work, consistency and whether the information available on the computer system is up to date or not. If this is not found, appropriate action will be taken against the contractor.

Presence of engineers is mandatory during drain cleaning work
Engineers should pay personal attention to the entire process of cleaning the drains. In addition, the presence of engineers will be mandatory during the drain cleaning work.