Phyan effect: no tankers in rural Pune ever since

“We have not required a single tanker till today in any of the villages in Pune. Of the 13 talukas in the district,only in Junnar taluka has the groundwater level dropped between 0 to one metre as compared to the annual average at that place. At all other talukas,the levels are above average,” said Suresh Khandale,additional director,Groundwater Surveys and Development Agency (GSDA).

The GSDA records groundwater table four times a year as per the hydrological cycle. “The untimely rains caused due to Phyan recharged wells and watersheds. While this is the current groundwater status,whether this water will be sufficient till the rains this year will be revealed only from the figures of the survey to be conducted in March,” Khandale said.

Phyan had hit the western coast last year causing major destruction of property as well as life leaving over 600 fishermen missing from Maharashtra’s western coast.

“Increased groundwater level is the positive side of the cyclone and an impact of heavy rains that this part of the state received within 2-3 days of the cyclone. Another aspect is that this water is fresh and is in its purest form,” said Medha Khole,director,Indian Meteorological Department (IMD).