EVERY DROP COUNTS
The high-stakes meeting, to be chaired by Pune’s guardian minister Sunetra Pawar, comes at a time when combined storage in the four dams in the Khadakwasla circle has dropped to 24.6 TMC — down from 28.9 TMC during the same period last year. The meeting was earlier postponed due to the model code of conduct for the graduates’ and teachers’ constituency elections.
A PMC water supply department said, “Weekly water closures are already resulting in a significant reduction in supply. “The existing weekly shutdowns are already translating into an effective 10-14% reduction in supply,” the official said, adding that the civic body is focusing on prudent use of drinking water and greater reuse of treated water. “Under the current schedule, winter canal rotations were planned for 40-45 days, with nearly 4 TMC earmarked for agricultural use,” another official said.
The irrigation department has already urged Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) to move towards alternate-day water supply, arguing that the shrinking reserves warranted stricter conservation measures. Additional cuts will further burden the distribution system. Civic officials are now pushing for a reduction in canal water releases to rural areas, a winter irrigation exercise that has been ongoing for the past month.
Officials said the suspension was purely technical and that lifting operations had now restarted. “Nearly 6.5 TMC of treated water from PMC is scheduled to be released annually from the Mundhwa jackwell for agricultural use,” an official said. Ahead of the canal committee’s decision, Pune mayor Manjusha Nagpure is expected to convene an all-party meeting to build consensus on the city’s response to the looming water challenge.
A senior irrigation department official said, “The upcoming committee meeting will assess reservoir stocks, consumption patterns and future demand before taking a call on water allocations. With competing demands from urban and rural stakeholders, however, the upcoming committee meeting is expected to witness intense discussions. Representatives from municipal corporations, industrial zones and elected bodies are expected to participate. ”