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PMC denies claim that drainage work caused Mutha canal breach
The Pune water resources department blames PMC for the Mutha canal breach, causing flooding, while PMC denies responsibility amid ongoing repairs.
Pune: The water resources department has blamed the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) for Monday’s Mutha canal breach, which flooded the Magarpatta area. They claim a poorly managed sewage pipe weakened the structure, an accusation the PMC denies.
According to officials of the water resources department, the PMC had laid a sewage pipeline but left it unattended, leading to seepage that gradually eroded the canal embankment. This ultimately caused the canal to collapse at a section, triggering the breach.
Following the incident, the water resources department launched emergency repair operations, dumping soil and stones into the breached section to stop the water flow. Subsequently, debris and temporary filling materials were removed, and full-scale repair work was initiated on Wednesday. Officials said the restoration work is progressing rapidly and irrigation water supply to rural areas will resume once repairs are completed.
The breach in the canal led to severe flooding in Magarpatta and nearby areas. Water gushed onto roads, turning them into river-like streams. Several houses and companies in the Hadapsar industrial estate were inundated. The incident also caused massive traffic congestion on the Pune–Solapur highway and the Magarpatta–Kharadi road.
The issue sparked strong reactions, with the matter raised in both the PMC general body meeting and the state assembly. Hadapsar MLA Chetan Tupe also highlighted the incident in the legislature.
In the aftermath, the superintendent engineer of the Khadakwasla project issued show-cause notices to the executive engineer, deputy engineer, and junior engineer concerned.
A senior official from the Khadakwasla irrigation division said, “After laying the sewage pipeline, the PMC left it unattended. Continuous leakage weakened the canal embankment. One of the three slab box structures beneath the canal was used to pass the pipeline, obstructing the canal’s natural flow and leading to the breach.”
However, PMC drainage department officials denied the allegations. Sanjay Gaikwad, superintendent engineer of PMC drainage department, said, “The canal breach has nothing to do with our drainage work. The pipeline was laid long ago and was installed separately. We completed work as per the water resource department. After a long time, how can officials blame PMC right now?”
