E-Paper
No water cut till after Lok Sabha polls
As voting for the Lok Sabha (LS) polls will be held on May 7 and 13 in Pune district, a decision regarding the available water storage in the Khadakwasla dam chain will be taken only after the LS polls
This year, the Khadakwasla dam chain has the lowest water storage in the last five years. Khadakwasla, Temghar, Panshet and Varasgaon - the four dams that supply water to the city - have a total water storage of 11.35 thousand million cubic feet/TMC which is less than last year by 2.36 TMC. However, as voting for the Lok Sabha (LS) polls will be held on May 7 and 13 in Pune district, a decision regarding the available water storage in the Khadakwasla dam chain will be taken only after the LS polls.
Controlled water usage was discussed in the canal committee meeting of the water resources department. Considering the available water storage in the Khadakwasla dam chain, it was decided not to cut the city’s water supply. At the same time, the Pune district collector gave instructions to the PMC to use water sparingly.
Water cut once a week for maintenance
Considering the last five years, water storage in the Khadakwasla dam chain is the lowest this year. Till April 7 last year, the total water storage in the four dams was 14.15 TMC (48.54 %). Whereas the total water storage in the four dams is 11.35 TMC (38.94 %) till April 7 this year. The last time the water storage had reduced to this level was in 2019. As on April 7, 2019, there was 9.51 TMC (32.62%) water storage in the dams. That year, the PMC banned the provision of drinking water to swimming pools, two-wheeler and four-wheeler washing centres, as well as constructions. Moreover, the water was shut off once a week for maintenance reasons.
A senior official of the water supply department said, “We don’t have the choice to cut water once a week. We cannot take regular water cut decisions due to the Lok Sabha polls. The decision will be taken after the Pune Lok Sabha voting. Currently, we have decided to implement a one-day water cut every Thursday to save water.”
A senior official of the Khadakwasla irrigation division of the state water resources department said, “The Pune district collector has already given instructions to the PMC to ban washing vehicles, construction activities. After the collector’s instructions, the PMC has reduced water intake. There is no problem till the end of June. However, after that, we will have to review the dam water and make decisions as per the situation. It will happen after voting.”
