Water Woes

Authorities in the Indian city of Mumbai (Bombay) have reduced water supplies by 30% as it faces one of the worst shortages in its history.

The cuts implemented have not just hit householders - hospitals and hotels have also been affected as lakes which supply water to the metropolis begin to dry up.

When water is available residents fill as many containers as possible.

Different household chores have to be managed in order. As Mrs. Ranade fills up the washing machine, she starts making dough for rotis.

"It is like a machine, I do one thing systematically after the other and then everything is OK. But I cannot afford to wake up late or skip the exact routine otherwise one ends up wasting water or not making optimum use of it."

The fear now for Mumbai residents is that they may soon have to buy water from private water suppliers as the five main lakes which supply the city now have levels between four to 10 meters lower than at this time last year. -- BBC

Mumbai is the second most populous city in the world with approximately 14 million inhabitants.