Threat of rain - will it dampen Commonwealth Games

Threat of rain - will it dampen Commonwealth Games? Go away rains, come back after the Commonwealth Games - that's what the Indian capital may be left saying as the weatherman forecasts the possibility of thundershowers during the mega event in October 2010.

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With water shortage becoming a major area of concern for the capital ahead of next year's Commonwealth Games, the city government has issued fresh directives to all its departments, local bodies and public sector undertakings to install rain water harvesting systems in their buildings.

The government has also modified the building norms making it mandatory for all the departments to provide plans for installing rain water harvesting system in all new buildings with 100 square metres and above area space.

"Directives have been issued to all government departments to install rain water harvesting systems in their buildings," said a senior Delhi Government official.

Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) president Mike Fennell, in a meeting with Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit last week had expressed concern over power and water situation in the city.

The Delhi Jal Board (DJB) now runs a scheme to encourage rain water harvesting under which it provides technical know-how and financial incentives to resident welfare associations, housing societies and other institutions.

A financial package of Rs one lakh or 50 percent of the total cost, whichever is less, is given by the DJB under the scheme.

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The officials said the DJB was streamlining its distribution network to minimise distribution losses.

According to estimates, the total distribution losses ranges between 35 to 40 percent of the total water supplied.

The city has a network of about 10,000 kms of water supply lines of which a significant is as old as 40 to 50 years and prone to higher leakage losses, the officials said.

The DJB was taking a series of steps including procurement of modern equipment to detect leakages so that they could be plugged properly, they added.