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Dam levels below par: Pune to face water cut
The committee formed to probe the breach of the Mutha right bank canal last week, headed by district guardian minister Girish Bapat, has decided to cut the city’s water supply from 1,350 million litres per day (MLD) to 1,150 MLD.
Despite repeated India Meteorological Department (IMD) reports of Pune district receiving more than its fair share of rain this monsoon and concurrently, all catchment areas in the district being close to full capacity, the Pune municipal corporation on Thursday, warned of water cuts in the immediate future.
The committee formed to probe the breach of the Mutha right bank canal last week, headed by district guardian minister Girish Bapat, has decided to cut the city’s water supply from 1,350 million litres per day (MLD) to 1,150 MLD.
However, in real terms, PMC officials requesting anonymity said this would result in a cut of 15 per cent of the water supply to the city.
Reduced water stock in the four dams that supply water to Pune is being cited as the main driver.
This year, overall storage in the four dams - Khadakwasla, Panshet, Temghar and Warasgaon - is 26 TMC which is 1.5 TMC less than last year. While heavy rainfall in July increased dam levels, authorities released water in August to prevent flooding.
Pune mayor Mukta Tillak said, “The water cut will be executed soon. The municipal administration will prepare a time-table for water distribution and will publish it in the newspapers. After that, the water cut will be introduced,” said Tilak.
V J Kulkarni, PMC’s water department chief, said, “With less water being released from the dams, PMC will be able to provide water only once a day.” Currently, most parts of the city get water twice a day.
“Considering the state-wide situation it is good to follow this alternative arrangement. It will help us to have less of a problem during summer,” mayor Tilak said.
The mayor added that as work on the Temghar dam is going on, the irrigation department plans to keep storage at a minimum. The Temghar dam falls under the Khadakwasla reservior.
BOX
Total storage capacity in four dams - 29 TMC
Current water levels are:
Khadakwasla - 1.66 TMC
Panshet -- 10.07 TMC
Temghar -- 1.59 TMC
Warasgaon -- 12.76 TMC
