The drinking water level in Kathauta Jheel, a reservoir in Gomti Nagar, that provides water supply to over 10 lakh residents of Indiranagar, Chinhat and Gomti Nagar, has come down from 22 feet to 11.8 feet, triggering a water crisis in Lucknow.
This means that water supply can only be provided for another seven days.
To address this issue, the Jalkal department has written to the irrigation department, urging them to resume the supply of Sharda Canal water to Kathauta lake to ensure uninterrupted water supply.
Kathauta lake, which is fed by the Sharda Canal, has a storage capacity of 84 crore litres of water.
On May 19, the irrigation department had suspended the water supply for 30 days to facilitate cleaning and maintenance of Sharda Canal and asked Jalkal to utilise the stored water to its maximum capacity for 28 days.
However, now 15 days have passed and Jalkal officials say if the supply does not reach the lake within a week, a crisis will ensue.
Executive engineer of the trans-Gomti area of Jalkal department, Ramesh Chandra said, “Currently, we are able to meet the daily demand of 65 MLD water by operating around 100 tubewells. However, if any of the tube-wells experience wear and tear, it may lead to a crisis.”
The irrigation department closes the water supply twice a year for maintenance before the sowing of Rabi and Kharif crops.
Initially, the department had planned to start this process on May 4, but the schedule was altered and the water supply was halted on May 19 instead of the original date.
Chief engineer of Sharda Canal irrigation department, Ashok Kumar Singh said they have not received the letter.
He mentioned that to avoid a crisis, Kathauta Lake was filled to its maximum capacity before the closure.
“However, we are in touch with the Jalkal department and are ensuring that there is no drinking water crisis in the city. “
He further suggested that since the irrigation department needs to close the canal every year, it is time for Lucknow Municipal Corporation (LMC) to increase its water supply capacity from other sources.
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