Monsoon oath: retain more water in dams

The department is targeting to keep 80 per cent of water reserved in the dams after the first discharge of water through floodgates,which comes after a good spell of rain.

While the main source of water to the city is the Khadakwasla dam,other three dams — Panshet,Temghar and Varasgaon+ also provide water. Last year,after the initial rains in June,the absence of rains for a long time had spelled a difficult time for Pune. Owing to unavailability of sufficient water,the Irrigation Department had reduced the supply to the city by 20 per cent in July and August last year. Six talukas,including Shirur,Indapur,Daund,Baramati,Purandar and Ambegaon,faced severe water scarcity. The Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) had also imposed loadshedding,citing the same reason.

“Every year,we keep water to the brim in dams till October 15,as the rains vanish by that time. While we are going to follow the same pattern this year also,we have decided not to discharge more water than necessary even during the rains so that the hardships do not follow in case of a drought. Therefore,our effort will be to keep 80 per cent of water stocked in the dam during monsoon,while by October 15,the dam will be 100 per cent full,” said Vijay Ghogre,executive engineer of the Khadakwasla irrigation division.

He said District Guardian Minister Ajit Pawar has also given directives to this effect during the meeting on kharif crop a few days ago.

Superintendent engineer of Pune irrigation circle Avinash Surve said,“We will see to it that the maximum amount of water is stored in the dams from the beginning of monsoon and will not release much water through floodgates. But it will be more of a balancing act for us as releasing the right amount of water is also necessary to avoid floodlike situation during heavy showers. Our main priority is to keep enough stock of water for drinking first and then for agriculture.”

Vanarai president Mohan Dharia said,“Water should not be discharged from dams more than necessary. Conservation of water when it rains well is a key to keep the problems arising out of drought at bay.” He said just like the Gadgebaba Gramswachhata Abhiyan was implemented with an agenda of cleanliness,a similar kind of programme should be carried out across the state for water conservation.