Lake tapping carried out at Modak Sagar near Mumbai

The Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) today carried out lake tapping exercise at the Modak Sagar lake in the Thane district.
"The lake tapping we did today is part of the middle Vaitarna project where we are trying to ensure that even if the level of Modak Sagar falls below the lowest drawable limit in case of a water crisis, there will still be extra water," said Ramesh Bambale, Deputy Municipal Commissioner.
The first lake-tapping in Maharashtra was carried out at Koyna dam in the Satara district in April 2012.
Bambale said a 7-km-long tunnel had been constructed from Modak Sagar lake to Bell nallah.

"We have created three levels inside the tunnel that will facilitate the flow of lake water into the tunnel. Two of them had been already tapped. We tapped the third level today using a dynamite," he said.
The project would cost about Rs 222 crore, he said.