The BMC is trying hard to make the Gargai dam project—110km northwest of Mumbai in Palghar district—a reality. A desalination plant, near Manori, is also in the planning stage. Despite these projects, the dream of a 24x7 water supply in the city will remain a distant dream.

The BMC had appointed a consultant and had tried to implement a round-the-clock water project on a pilot basis in two wards—T (Mulund) and H West (Bandra to Santacruz). The Rs 275-crore project was launched in 2014 to improve water networks and supply water at all hours a phase-wise manner. However, six years after the project was initiated, the BMC managed to increase the water supply hours from three to only six. The programme wound up in 2020. “The water supply was inadequate. If the BMC had increased the water supply hours in these two areas, there would have been an impact on the supply to other areas,” said a civic official.