PMC sets up six control rooms to monitor 24x7 water scheme; two begin ops
At present, we have started operations of two control rooms - Tingre Nagar (Bhama Askhed WTP) and Sinhagad Road area (Vadgaon WTP), says official
While the water supply department of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has set up six control rooms in different parts of the city to keep tabs on and resolve problems related to the 24x7 equitable water supply scheme, only two out of the six centres have started operations so far.
The 24x7 scheme aims to establish continuously pressurised water supply with universal metering. The objective is to monitor the water supply and have real time access to all critical parameters at the PMC headquarters. Distribution-wise, Pune city has been divided into six areas namely Parvati water treatment plant (WTP), Pune Cantonment WTP, Vadgaon WTP, Warje WTP, Holkar WTP, and Bhama Askhed WTP.
Nandkumar Jagtap, superintendent engineer of the water supply department handling the 24x7 scheme, said, “At present, we have started operations of two control rooms - Tingre Nagar (Bhama Askhed WTP) and Sinhagad Road area (Vadgaon WTP). The work is going on to start the operations of the remaining control rooms. At present, we are monitoring water distribution and operation of the installed water meters from the existing control rooms. In the next stage, we will resolve water meter problems and water bill-related complaints.”
The various control systems at each WTP will be connected to a central control room to be created in one of the main buildings of the PMC headquarters. In this central control room, the SCADA will permit statistical data processing that will enable the PMC executive officers to monitor and compare the distribution performance in each supply zone, in order to undertake the most advisable interventions.
As per the detailed project report (DPR) of the 24x7 scheme, consultants had initially estimated that 318,000 water meters would be installed including domestic and commercial consumers in the city. However, during the latest consumer survey, the actual number has come down to 288,000 connections. Out of these, the PMC has installed 150,000 meters and by the end of 2023, all the remaining meters, too, will be installed.
The civic body initiated the 24x7 equitable water scheme to resolve the problem of irregular and insufficient water supply in the city. The project was approved in February 2018 with the total project cost being ₹2,550 crores out of which ₹200 crores was raised by the civic body through bonds.
