To percolate and drain the rainwater and boost the groundwater level, Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has decided to lay pervious blocks on the footpath in Bibvewadi area on a pilot basis.
The decision was taken in the pre-monsoon works meeting which was called by PMC commissioner Vikram Kumar in the first week of April. Additional municipal commissioner Vikas Dhakne suggested using the pervious blocks to percolate and drain rainwater.
The municipal corporation wants to use blocks in low-level areas, around the drainage chambers, and water logging part of the road, said officials.
Amar Shinde, executive engineer of the road department, said, “The main purpose of the pervious block is to percolate rainwater in the ground and help to increase the groundwater level. Four years ago, we used pervious blocks at Shinde High School in the Taljai Hill area. It is giving good results. However, it is not in the busy part of the city where footfall is more.”
He further said, “Now, we will place pervious blocks in different parts of the city. We will place blocks in the Upper Indira Nagar area at VIT College in Bibvewadi. The area has steep slope and water accumulates in that part of the area.”
{{/usCountry}}He further said, “Now, we will place pervious blocks in different parts of the city. We will place blocks in the Upper Indira Nagar area at VIT College in Bibvewadi. The area has steep slope and water accumulates in that part of the area.”
{{/usCountry}}One of the senior officials of the road department requesting anonymity said, “The idea is innovative but it is not practical on the footpath where footfall is more. The previous blocks are porous and they will easily get blocked with dust and garbage. If it happens, water will not percolate. We will have to always keep the footpath clean to get better results.”
“Normally paver blocks have a life of more than five years. However, if we cannot maintain the pervious blocks, it cannot last longer. It has limited life in rough and tough use,” the official added.
Sudhir Kulkarni, civic activist, said, “The civic body should avoid excessive and unnecessary cement concretisation of internal roads and develop proper storm water drain systems to avoid water logging. This is a fancy idea and it will not work in every corner of the city.”
“It will not work on footpaths because footpaths are also used not only for walking but also to install food stalls and other activities,” he said.
Several areas in the city face water logging during monsoon season. The areas that normally witness water logging include Kothrud, Yerawada, J M Road, Sahakarnagar, Peth areas, Anandnagar, Vitthalwadi, Suncity Road and Pulachiwadi areas.
The road network in the civic limits is around 2,100 km long. Of it, around 600km stretch has been concreted. The rest are tar roads. On average, almost 20-30km of road stretches are concreted every normal (non-pandemic) year. Most of them are smaller roads.