The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) on Thursday claimed to have repaired a major leakage in the Wadgaon Water Treatment Plant (WTP) to Taljai Hill distribution line near Sinhagad College using advanced technology. The civic body said that nearly six million litres of water per day is saved due to these repairs.
The PMC, under the guidance of municipal commissioner Vikram Kumar, has launched a pilot programme to trace water leakages as part of the 24x7 equitable water supply scheme. Under the pilot, the PMC water supply department has managed to identify 13 underground leakages in the Wadgaon WTP to Taljai Hill and Taljai Hill to Rajiv Gandhi Pumping Station distribution lines. Two of the 13 leakages identified are near Sinhagad College. A major one among these two was fixed by the PMC water supply department using advanced technology, leading to water savings of 6 million litres per day.
Nandkumar Jagtap, superintendent engineer of water supply, said, “We discovered 13 leakages while working on the Wadgaon WTP to Taljai Hill and Taljai Hill to Rajiv Gandhi Pumping Station distribution lines. Of these, we repaired one major leakage near Sinhagad College on Wednesday. We have observed that the requirement of the area has come down from 41 million litres per day to 35 million litres per day after fixing the leakage.”
Jagtap said that the PMC used advanced techniques to record the sound of leaking water underground. “We have repaired the underground leakage near Rajas Society in the Katraj area on Thursday. After 24 hours of water reading, we will come to know how much water has been saved. We place water meters in and around distribution lines to quantify the water leakage,” Jagtap informed. He also said that the PMC has identified six leakages in the Taljai Hill area and has requested the forest department to permit them to work on the hill.
{{/usCountry}}Jagtap said that the PMC used advanced techniques to record the sound of leaking water underground. “We have repaired the underground leakage near Rajas Society in the Katraj area on Thursday. After 24 hours of water reading, we will come to know how much water has been saved. We place water meters in and around distribution lines to quantify the water leakage,” Jagtap informed. He also said that the PMC has identified six leakages in the Taljai Hill area and has requested the forest department to permit them to work on the hill.
{{/usCountry}}Forest Department allows PMC to work on leakages near Taljai Hill
Of the 13 underground leakages found in the Wadgaon WTP to Taljai Hill and Taljai Hill to Rajiv Gandhi Pumping Station distribution lines by the PMC, six have been found near Taljai Hill which comes under the forest department.
Due to objections raised by environmentalists, the forest department was at first unwilling to give permission to the PMC water supply department to work on the leakages near Taljai Hill. However, the PMC managed to convince the forest department to grant permission as water supply is an essential service and it is very important to repair leakages and save water. Finally, the forest department has given permission to the PMC to work on the leakages near Taljai Hill.
Pradeep Sakpal, range forest officer of the Pune forest division, said, “The PMC has submitted a letter for carrying out repairs of underground leakages near Taljai Hill. We have given permission to the civic body to fix the leakages. However, we have clearly instructed the PMC not to cut any trees and also to restore the roads and areas after digging.”
A few days ago, the PMC water supply department had carried out fencing work for a proposed water tank. At the time, environmentalists and local residents had objected to the contractor chopping trees on Vetal Tekdi without first taking permission.