Pune: Water Crisis Persists In Undri Hilltop, Pisoli, Handewadi Despite Civic Promises

Renuka Suryavanshi 

Pune, May 18, 2026: Even as the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) inaugurated overhead water tanks aimed at easing water shortages in areas such as NIBM Road and Mohammadwadi, residents of Undri Hilltop, Autade Handewadi and Pisoli say they continue to face severe water supply problems with no immediate relief in sight.

Residents claim the issue has persisted since 2005 and remained unresolved even after the areas were merged into PMC limits in 2017. According to locals, rapid urban development has not been matched with adequate water infrastructure, leaving thousands dependent on expensive private water tankers.

Citizens allege that despite repeated assurances from authorities, proper pipeline networks and storage facilities are still missing in several parts of Undri, Handewadi and Pisoli. Many residents expressed frustration over political banners and publicity campaigns surrounding the inauguration of nearby water tanks, saying their own long-pending issues continue to be ignored.

Locals also pointed out that the Development Plan (DP) for the Undri-Pisoli area is still under finalisation. 

Residents, however, say they cannot wait any longer. 

Sunil Aiyer, a resident from the Undri Hilltop area and Mohamadwadi Undri Residents Welfare Development Foundation, said the locality has not received proper water supply for over 25 years and warned that increasing dependence on water tankers has become both unsafe and expensive.

Several citizens raised concerns over the lack of basic civic planning despite large-scale residential construction in the region. Residents from societies in Pisoli and Undri said tanker operators charge between ₹800 and ₹1,200 per trip, significantly increasing household expenses.

Citizen groups are now planning to meet PMC officials and intensify demands for immediate infrastructure upgrades, including fast-tracking pipeline work, water storage facilities and overhead tank construction before approving further development projects in the area.

Neeta Bhatnagar, a resident, expressed her views on the issue. She said, “The inauguration is done , photo op and drama is done …but the journey to get water has just begun for the hilltop residents in Undri. There are no pipelines whatsoever and nothing in the pipeline to get that done so how and when do you think the water will reach us? Most of us including me have resided here for a decade and were promised PMC water in the taps and we even have the taps in our homes but where are the pipelines ? To me,water is still a distant dream and we hope this dream shall come true someday. Wish the CM and his entourage had visited the hilltop to see how we live and the roads that we drive everyday to get to our homes.” 

Neeta further stated, “When we were sold these homes, they called it”Homes for the heroes” Many of us including me belong to the defence and believe me we are now zeroes in a place we put our hard earned money and thought we would retire amongst like minded people and a peaceful place.” 

Nitin Deshpande, a resident of Undri said, “The Chief Minister yesterday didn’t mention Undri in his speech, he said NIBM, Dorabjee area and Mohamadwadi area, which is already in PMC since 1997. Those sitting on the dias who are allegedly the tanker owners do not know that Undri and Mohadwadi are important names too. Why such orphan treatment to Undri ? My experience says we should not celebrate this political event. Our true celebration will be on the day when water reaches our taps in Undri.” 

Another resident Shailesh Shukla gave his opinion about the yesterdays inauguration. He shared, “Yesterday’s grand inauguration at Raheja Circle, complete with sweeping tents and political applause, was a masterclass in cosmetic governance, a calculated “eyewash” to check bureaucratic boxes and secure photo-ops for politicians while leaving Undri’s water crisis specially for Hilltop residents entirely unresolved. While celebrated on paper, this infrastructure is a classic case of “too little, too late.” Built on plans designed nearly eight years ago, it blindly ignores a staggering 800% population explosion. The bunted banner boasting a 21-lakh-litre capacity crumbles under basic math: at a standard 135 litres per capita per day, this ecosystem can sustain just 15,000 residents, meaning a mere handful of high-rises in the plain regions will exhaust the supply instantly. Worse still, the plan hits a literal topography trap. Water does not flow uphill, and these lower-level tanks offer absolutely nothing to the nearly 45% of the population. and still counting – who reside on the Undri Hill Top. Serving this massive, rapidly growing section requires an entirely separate, unbuilt infrastructure of high-level staging tanks, pumping mains, and independent gravity networks. Celebrating this partial work while completely abandoning almost half of the local population to geographic exclusion is a systematic, deliberate omission.”

Shukla added, “This performance unmasks a toxic triangle of manipulation between a lethargic bureaucracy and opportunistic politicians looking to buy a five-year silence from the community under the pretext that Undri’s water problem is “solved.” But the narrative is shifting. The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) cannot hide behind a “lack of budget” when its individual departments routinely fail to execute zero-cost coordination tasks like demarcating Autedewadi Lake or clearing road bottlenecks at Undri Chowk which require administrative willpower, not multi-crore allocations. Moving forward, MURWDF must pivot to aggressive, data-backed accountability through three urgent steps: implementing a Zero-Cost Task Audit to force immediate inter-departmental action; filing targeted RTIs to legally expose the PMC’s distribution blueprint and demand a binding timeline for the Hill Top phase; and driving Legal & Tax Accountability via a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) against the PMC Commissioner, on the grounds that collecting full property taxes while forcing total reliance on private water tankers directly violates the Right to Clean Water under Article 21.”

Ankit Rajput, Voice Of Handewadi said, “Even in 2026, residents of Undri Handewadi are still fighting for something as basic as regular water supply. Thousands of tax-paying families, massive residential growth, and endless promises, the dream of reliable water still feels painfully far away.

PMC that cannot fulfill the most basic necessity of water to its citizens has no right to call this “development.” This moreover feels like rubbing salt into the wounds of thirsty people. Undri and Handewadi are not asking for luxury. It is a basic human necessity.”