Pune: Mayor Manjusha Nagpure on Thursday directed the civic administration to set up round-the-clock water scarcity control rooms across all 15 ward offices, plug leakages and crack down on water wastage and illegal connections amid concerns over limited dam stocks.
In a letter to municipal commissioner Naval Kishore Ram on Thursday, Nagpure called for stricter water management, equitable distribution across the city and immediate measures to prevent wastage. She has asked the administration to submit a detailed action-taken report to her office within three days.
“The drought crisis is serious, but with proper planning and strict measures, we can help the city overcome the shortage safely,” she said.
Each ward office will have a dedicated water scarcity and disaster control room, staffed in shifts by officials from the water supply, health and disaster management departments. The mayor has also proposed separate 24-hour helplines and WhatsApp complaint desks for each ward office, with complaints about leakages, tanker requests and other water-related issues to be resolved within 24 hours.
The civic administration has been asked to prepare a phased water distribution plan based on available stocks and ensure equitable supply, including to areas at the tail end of the distribution network.
{{/usCountry}}The civic administration has been asked to prepare a phased water distribution plan based on available stocks and ensure equitable supply, including to areas at the tail end of the distribution network.
{{/usCountry}}Nagpure has also called for rapid-response teams to detect and repair leaks in major pipelines, distribution lines and storage tanks. Unauthorised connections and commercial water theft must be identified, disconnected and dealt with through legal or punitive action, the letter said.
According to officials, the proposed restrictions include a ban on using drinking water to wash vehicles, for private construction sites, swimming pools, irrigating gardens and lawns, or washing roads. Violators could face fines and disconnection of their water supply, they said.
Furthermore, to regulate tanker supply, the mayor has called for ward-level control over distribution, free municipal tankers for shortage-hit areas and strict limits on private tanker rates to curb profiteering.