Continuous rains hit Pune city, dam water at 38.55%

Ghat regions around Pune city received very heavy rainfall on Wednesday. Lonavla recorded over 200 mm rainfall, and Tamhini recorded 330 mm in 24 hours

The city experienced continuous rainfall on Wednesday, however, the city is yet to experience a good spell of rain. The ghat section around Pune city has been experiencing heavy rainfall for the last 48 hours causing a significant rise in dam water level. However, the collective water level is much less compared to last year’s stock, said an official from the irrigation department.

The water storage data revealed that the dams are yet to reach to its 50% capacity. (HT FILE PHOTO)

On Wednesday, many areas in the city received rainfall between 2 and 6 mm. However, the city is still waiting for strong spells since the beginning of July. Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecasted that the rain activity will continue in Pune for the next 48 hours. The ghat areas are expected to receive heavy rainfall during this period and an orange alert has been issued.

Anupam Kashyapi, head of the weather and forecasting division, IMD, Pune said, “A shear zone (low-pressure line) runs roughly along Lat. 20° N tilting southwards. Moreover, a cyclonic circulation is likely to form over the Northwest Bay of Bengal. As a result, Maharashtra is experiencing good rainfall for the past 48 hours.”

In Pune, ghat areas have received very heavy rainfall, while Lonavla received over 200 mm rainfall, and Tamhini received 330 mm 24-hour rainfall. The rainfall activity is expected to continue for the next 24 hours. Thereafter there will be a reduction, according said IMD officials.

Meanwhile, despite receiving good rains in the catchment areas, the dams in Pune are unable to get good storage. The water storage data revealed that the dams are yet to reach to its 50% capacity.

Shweta Kurade, executive engineer, Khadakwasla dam chain project said, “Currently the total contents of four dams including Khadakwasla, Warasgaon, Temghar, and Panshet is 11.24 TMC which is 38.55 per cent of overall storage. Last year, in the same period the storage was 18.89 TMC which was 64.79 per cent of overall storage. Therefore, we are lacking a huge amount of storage. Although, the current rainfall may not be able to fill this gap, we are hoping for a significant increase in water storage.”