Pune: Weekly cuts in water supply likely to be implemented
Pune: Weekly cuts in water supply likely to be implemented
Water in Pune reservoirs will last only for 40 more days.
19 April 2024
Water storage has declined tremendously in the Khadakwasla’s project dams, posing challenges to the Pune Municipal Corporation as these are instrumental resources for drinking water for the city.
Earlier, the water supply department had announced that the stored water would last till 15th July, which provided citizens with some relief and eased their minds. The situation has taken a sharp turn and unexpected hurdles have arised for the corporation.
Major water sources for the city’s drinking needs are Temghar, Panshet, Khadakwasla and Varasgaon dams, built under the Khadakwasla project. The cultural capital requires over two thousand million cubic feet of water to satiate its monthly need. Only 10.22 TMC (thousand million cubic feet) out of a total of 29.08 TMC storage is left in these dams collectively. Going by this calculation, the water storage is predicted to get exhausted by the end of May.
Even now, the PMC is grappling with difficulties in supplying enough water in the newly merged villages and suburban areas. An average of 1,200 to 1,400 tankers travel to these villages to meet their escalating water demands.
The projection has made conservation of water and implementation of water supply reduction measures a dire need at the moment. The officials have insinuated that a water cut will be imposed a day after the electoral drive for the Lok Sabha elections concludes.
While the PMC has meticulous plans of implementing weekly water shutdowns in order to make sure that stored water can last till at least mid-July, a video shared by Rupesh Kesakar, a Punekar, showcases water wastage happening in the PMC office itself.
Last week on Thursday, many areas in the city faced water shutdowns undertaken by the PMC for management purposes, followed by water supply at low pressure on Friday.
Consequently, the civic body received a total of 169 complaints. This is a testament to how much nuisance even a one-day hindrance in water supply results in. An official has shared how this instance has made them apprehensive about imposing water shutdowns weekly.
