Cities face water crunch
India’s biggest cities — Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad — are bracing for severe summer water shortages as groundwater and infrastructure strain under rapid urbanization. China’s government also warned of a year of extreme weather — both floods and droughts — raising systemic risk to urban supplies and agriculture. Meanwhile, targeted projects like Tanzania’s Ruvu basin program are being cited as resilience models that combine water management with economic growth. (newsable.asianetnews.com) (reuters.com) (dailynews.co.tz)
Delhi’s Summer Action Plan sets a peak supply target of about 1,002 million gallons per day from major treatment plants and expands the tube‑well network from 5,854 to nearly 6,290 units. (ndtv.com) The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation currently supplies 3,850 MLD against a demand of 4,300 MLD — a 400 MLD shortfall — and has earmarked Rs 6,001 crore in its 2026‑27 budget for water projects, including Rs 2,324 crore for water conveyance tunnels and revival of the Gargai‑Pinjal dam. (indianexpress.com) Bengaluru’s Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board is still chasing an estimated 1,100 MLD supply gap, with growing reliance on private tankers and recent contamination incidents — including sewage entering Cauvery supply lines at KSFC Layout — that forced robotic inspections and emergency shutdowns. (thefederal.com) Veeranam tank now holds about 1,465 million cubic feet and Chennai Metrowater has resumed withdrawals of up to 180 MLD from the scheme, after increases that helped push daily municipal supply figures back toward the 1,100 MLD range and add roughly 150,000 households. (thehindu.com) The Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board rolled out a Summer Action Plan reviewed by MD K. Ashok Reddy and executive director Mayank Mittal to keep drinking water flowing across Greater Hyderabad and areas within the Outer Ring Road. (hyderabadmail.com) China’s Ministry of Water Resources warned the flood season starting April 1 could bring more severe northern floods and scattered droughts elsewhere, with forecasts of two to three typhoons and calls to reinforce thousands of reservoirs and flood‑control systems. (straitstimes.com) A four‑year NbS4Water‑Ruvu program launched this month will focus on the Ngerengere catchment, with the Coca‑Cola system investing USD 1.94 million to restore the Ruvu sub‑basin that supplies water to Dar es Salaam and an estimated population of about 9 million. (dailynews.co.tz)
