Journalism of Courage
With reduced availability and increasing demand of drinking water in the city after the merger of 23 more villages, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) is planning to temporarily stop giving permission to new water connections to properties.
“The water in the four dams that cater to the city has come down nine TMC as against 11 TMC last year during the same time. The water is reserved only for drinking purpose needs of rural and urban areas of Pune district. The likely shortage of water was expected due to an increase in consumption due to rising mercury levels and the expansion of city limits,” said an officer of the civic water supply department on condition of anonymity.
He also said, “The PMC water supply department has informed its regional offices on the possibility of stopping permissions for new water connections to properties for the time being. The situation would be reviewed by the end of this month and a final decision would be taken.”
Every year, the water consumption increases in the city with the civic body drawing 15-20 per cent more to meet the demand. This year, the temperature has been above 40 degrees Celsius since last month which has led to consumption of more water in the city. The PMC has to draw 1,600-1,700 MLD water to meet the present need which was 1,250-1,300 MLD last year.
The PMC was so far supplying water directly from water bodies to the adjoining villages through tankers but now it has to provide treated water to the citizens in the newly-included areas of the city. Also, the Bombay High Court had recently directed the PMC to provide sufficient treated water to citizens of the newly-merged villages.
