The city of Mumbai in India has generated a lot of curiosity among the scholars within India and abroad. The multi-dimensional nature of the city and the exuberant continuity in spite of various hurdles have been the strong points of Mumbai. Every city expands with the political rules. Today the municipal jurisdiction of Mumbai is identified with the term MCGM i.e., Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai. The term 'Bombay' in the British records enveloped the area of seven islands. In ancient and medieval times certain localities outside the later British 'Bombay' had got populated. The book shows that these areas had the sources of potable water supply and hence they got populated. Later, the British officials identified many of these areas as having potential of providing water to the entire city. These were then considered for the major water schemes. Before the major water schemes like Vehar Water Works there were various efforts to conserve and preserve water because the existing water supply, as the official records reflect, by way of tanks and wells in South Bombay was inadequate to cater to the needs of the people. The book states such efforts towards early water management in the city. Water charities done by many philanthropists to the city came as a boon especially when there was inflow of population since the nineteenth century. The book takes a survey of these water charities. The book discusses the development of water till the Tansa Water Works. The present volume will interest people at large, in particular, specialists in water management and conservation, historians, architects, sociologists and anthropologists.
