Even after two months of kicking off the Bhama-Askhed water supply project, the eastern part of the city is not getting clean drinking water.
Now, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has appealed to residents to boil the water before using it.
Earlier, a turbid water problem occurred in Yerawada. Now, it has spread to Nagpur chawl, Maharashtra housing society and the Tridal nagar areas.
Dr Siddharth Dhende, local corporator of Yerawada ward said, “The PMC has started supplying Bhama-Askhed water in our areas. From Tuesday, we have started receiving turbid water. In our areas, more than 30,000 residents are getting turbid water. We have appeal to residents of Yerawada to boil the water. Turbid water is expected in the next two to three days.”
Ashok Dhiwar, a resident of Nagpur chawl said, “We are getting turbid water for the last two days. Earlier, we were getting clean water. On Tuesday, water turbidity was so high we could not drink the water. We purchased packaged water from the market. Today, turbidity is low as compared to Tuesday.”
Anirudha Pawaskar, chief superintendent engineer of the PMC water supply department said, “There are some parts of the Yerawada area where people are getting turbid water. We received complaints from local corporators and residents. Now, we have stopped Bhama-Askhed water supply in Yerawada area and started supplying water from the Pune Cantonment water treatment and supply centre from where Yerawada used to receive water earlier.”
{{/usCountry}}Anirudha Pawaskar, chief superintendent engineer of the PMC water supply department said, “There are some parts of the Yerawada area where people are getting turbid water. We received complaints from local corporators and residents. Now, we have stopped Bhama-Askhed water supply in Yerawada area and started supplying water from the Pune Cantonment water treatment and supply centre from where Yerawada used to receive water earlier.”
{{/usCountry}}He further said, “Even if the water is turbid, it is safe to drink. So, we have appealed to residents to boil the water before using it for drinking purposes. We are trying hard to sort out the problems on a war footing. It will take two to three days. We will publish an appeal in social media as well as in print to boil the water.”
The long-delayed project to supply Bhama-Askhed dam water through a closed pipe to the eastern part of the city was completed in December 2020. After the inauguration of the Bhama-Askhed water scheme on January 1, 2021, the PMC began a trial run to supply water to the eastern part of the city.
After two and half months, the PMC has not been able to supply drinking water to the entire eastern part of the city; the PMC is still facing problems of water turbidity in some parts of the Yerawada area.
Turbidity is the measure of relative clarity of a liquid. The material that causes water to be turbid include clay, silt, very tiny inorganic and organic matter, algae, dissolved coloured organic compounds, and plankton and other microscopic organisms.
The project was initiated to provide water to Kalas, Sangamwadi, Yerawada, Lohegaon, Dhanori, Kalyaninagar, Vadgaonsheri and Kharadi. The 200 MLD project is expected to meet the water supply needs of the region by 2041 when the local population is estimated to have increased to 14.5 lakh. The project was started in 2013 and has been completed in December 2020.