Basai water plant runs dry, older Gurugram sectors likely to be affected

Water supply to residential areas in Old Gurugram may be disrupted as the raw water inflow to the Basai Water Treatment Plant has dropped significantly over the past month, officials said. The Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) has warned that the plant currently holds enough treated water to last just one day, against the standard buffer stock for three days.

The GMDA attributes the shortage to the deteriorating condition of the Gurgaon Water Supply Channel and frequent power cuts at the Munda Khera pumping station. “The water supply to Basai comes through the Gurgaon Water Supply Channel, which is in a dilapidated condition,” said a senior GMDA official. “The channel normally supplies 125 cusecs daily, but this has reduced to 100–105 cusecs over the past month, causing a daily shortfall of about 20 cusecs,” the official added.

To address the issue, the GMDA has begun installing heavy-duty pumps at Chandu Budhera. “These will help pump around 25 cusecs of water to Basai and should be operational in the next two days,” said Abhinav Verma, executive engineer, GMDA. “We have increased the treatment capacity at Chandu Budhera by 50 million litres per day (mld), and half of this water will be diverted to Basai to support supply to Old Gurugram and nearby colonies,” he added. By Friday, these pumps will be set up to supply additional water to Basai from Chandu Budhera.

Currently, the Basai plant holds only 685 million litres (ML) of water—just enough for one day’s supply—against its full capacity of 1,385 ML. In contrast, Chandu Budhera has 1,325 ML in storage, maintaining a three-day buffer.

The GMDA supplies a total of 570mld of potable water to Gurugram, sourced from the Yamuna via the irrigation department. Demand has steadily increased with population growth in newer sectors, placing added stress on the system.

To tackle with the shortfall in supply, water from Chandu Budhera will be diverted to Basai water treatment plant for supply to Old Gurugram areas, officials said.

 In a recent meeting with the irrigation department, officials discussed ways to boost raw water supply. “We are planning to remodel the Gurgaon Water Supply Channel,” said a senior irrigation department official, adding that a new pipeline will be laid from Kakori headworks to Gurugram to ensure better flow.