Parts of Pimpri-Chinchwad grapple with water shortage
The affected areas have a population of over 2 lakh and receive around 100 million litres per day (MLD) from the Nighoj water supply system and lift water from Andra Dam
Thousands of families in Pimpri-Chinchwad are grappling with an acute water shortage, causing severe inconvenience and distress among the residents. Areas such as Moshi, Chikhali, Boradewadi, Dudulgaon, Jadhavwadi, and Charholi have been receiving significantly less water supply at low pressure for the past week, claim the residents.
The affected areas have a population of over 2 lakh and receive around 100 million litres per day (MLD) from the Nighoj water supply system and lift water from Andra Dam. However, due to a sharp decline in water stock, the officials said that the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) has been able to lift only 40 MLD, leading to the crisis.
“We have not received a single drop of water for the past three days. We are dependent on water from private tankers at exorbitant rates. The authorities must take immediate measures to streamline the water supply,” said Rohit Pawar, a resident of Moshi.
Sanjeevan Sangale, chairman of the Chikhali Moshi Pimpri-Chinchwad Housing Societies Federation (CMPCHSF), said, “Until regular supply is restored, the PCMC needs to provide alternative solutions, such as deploying more tankers or other additional water sources. We are going to write to the PCMC officials to immediately solve the issues.”
Another resident, Sunita Jadhav from Chikhali said, they have been receiving water supply on alternate days. “Every morning, we wake up worrying whether there will be water in our taps. The low-pressure supply isn’t enough to fill our society’s tanks, and with the summer heat intensifying, the situation is becoming unbearable.”
Conforming the water shortage, Vijaysinh Bhosale, executive engineer of the water supply department PCMC said the water to this area is supplied from Nighoj and has been lifted from Andra Dam for the last one-and-half-year.
“PCMC daily lifts around 100 MLD of water from Nighoj but the water stock has declined considerably, leading to truncated water supply to residents. There is a possibility that some houses due to low water pressure would not receive any water supply. However, the PCMC has been following the issue with the irrigation department,” he said.
He further added that additional water supply has been released by the irrigation department, but it takes time to reach the Pimpri-Chinchwad area around four to five days.
“The problem is likely to be resolved in the next couple of days,” he said.
