Digha residents will not have any water issue from 2023, says Navi Mumbai civic official

The water crisis of the residents of Digha is going to be a thing of the past as the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) has decided to develop a 2 MLD elevated service reservoir (ESR) in their area. The civic body has set aside a budget of ₹12Cr for the project.

The population of Digha is now around one lakh. They have been grappling with water issues for the past several years as the area has no reservoir of its own.

A senior officer of NMMC said, “A few months ago, we purchased a plot of land from the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) at a subsidised rate for developing the reservoir. We are done with the tendering process and the work at the site will be started within two weeks. We will give the contractors a timeframe of one-and-a-half years for completing the project. Thus, from 2023, the residents of Digha will not have any water issue.”

Datta Patil, 49, a resident of Digha said, “NMMC gets sufficient water to distribute among its residents as it has its own dam (Morbe dam). However, despite being a part of its jurisdiction, the area of Digha is deprived of the required amount of water simply because there is no reservoir. The water pressure is extremely low in our area and it takes up to fifteen minutes to fill a bucket.”