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PMC water cut throws city out of gear
The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) had announced a full-day water cut on Thursday and assured restoration on Friday. However, due to delays in maintenance work, many areas received little to no water until late Friday evening.
PUNE: The city’s routine was severely affected on Thursday and Friday due to a widespread water shortage, with several households reporting no supply even for basic needs.
The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) had announced a full-day water cut on Thursday and assured restoration on Friday. However, due to delays in maintenance work, many areas received little to no water until late Friday evening, forcing residents to depend on tankers.
The shortage was reported across large parts of the city, including Kothrud, all peth areas, Swargate, Model Colony, Shivajinagar, Sahakarnagar, Katraj, Sinhagad Road, Bibvewadi, Vimannagar, Kondhwa, Nagar Road and several other localities.
With peak summer conditions and ongoing school holidays, demand for water increased sharply.
Additional Municipal Commissioner Pavneet Kaur said, “Major maintenance work on the electric transmission system from MSEDCL was planned and completed. The PMC replaced the major isolation valve on the Khadakwasla to Warje Water Treatment Plant line. It was crucial work and took longer than estimated.”
She added, “If this valve had not been replaced and a fault occurred, repairs would have required draining the Khadakwasla dam. A total of 45 civil and electrical maintenance works were completed at Parvati, Warje and Bhama Askhed plants.”
Despite assurances of restoration by Friday afternoon, several areas remained without supply even after 5 pm.
The situation escalated politically, with Kothrud MLA and cabinet minister Chandrakant Patil directing officials to expedite restoration.
Residents were forced to protest and queue at tanker points as the shortage continued.
Raksha Bokil from Sahakarnagar said, “We thought Thursday’s cut was routine and did not expect it to continue. We had no water, even for toilet use and had to buy water for drinking.”
Ram Kadam from Bibvewadi said, “My family called me from home due to no water. I rushed from the office and arranged three cans from a tanker point.”
Sayali Patil said society WhatsApp groups remained active throughout the day. “Women kept asking about water. Since many members work, the society decided to release water after 7 pm when everyone returns,” she said.
BJP leader Sandeep Khardekar criticised the administration, saying, “We condemn the mismanagement of water supply. Citizens have been approaching us since morning, and we have no satisfactory answers. Finally, Minister Chandrakant Patil called officials and directed them to streamline supply.”
