PMC banks on RTI activist to end water crisis

Civic chief Mahesh Zagade to form special committee with RTI activist Major General Jatar (Retired) on it as he has made in-depth study of water supply shortage problem while pursuing the issue over the years

PMC banks on RTI activist to end water crisis

A Right to information (RTI) activist may be the answer to the city's water woes. Fed up with not being able to tackle the issue of inconsistent water supply in the city, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) is now looking to RTI activist Major General S C N Jatar (Retired) to resolve the water crisis.

The city has been experiencing water shortage for over three months and complaints have been constantly pouring in at all the 14 ward offices.

Finally, Municipal Commissioner Mahesh Zagade has agreed to form a special committee to monitor the works of the water supply department.
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Jatar will be a member of the committee, which includes City Engineer Prashant Waghmare and Additional City Engineer (Water Supply) Pramod Nirbhawane.

Jatar said that the water supply situation in the city had worsened over time.

"Water supply was merged with the sewage treatment department by the municipal commissioner three years ago, which has created confusion and lacunae in the overall supply system," he said.

According to Jatar, the chaos created has resulted in interrupted water supply to many areas in and around the city.

"Some areas get less water and others get water 24 hours. There is no rationale to the supply system. There is a grave need to pinpoint proper jurisdiction of water supply zones which are linked with Khadakwasala dam for lifting of water through the canals," he said.

Manisha Sathe, a resident of Sadashiv Peth, said, "There is no water after 9 am for the last three-and-half months."

Ashok Marathe from Mangalwar Peth said, "We get water for just two hours a day. Even the local corporators have been unable to solve this sudden shortage of water."

While reviewing last year's budget for water supply, PMC Chief Accountant Ulka Kalaskar noticed that there was a deficit of Rs 47 crore as the expenditure was Rs 201.38 crore against an income of Rs 162.73 crore.
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PMC supplies 1,050 million litres of water to the city every day.

Pramod Nirbhavne, Development Engineer (Water Supply), said there was a shortage of employees and technical staff in the six water supply zones where the staff works on water supply as well as sewage works.

Santosh Jagtap, Senior Engineer working at the Parvati Water Supply Station, agreed that there was confusion over water from the open canal everyday.

"We have to curtail 40 per cent water supply as there is difficulty in lifting water from the canals. In the city our purified water tanks used to get empty after six hours. Now it takes only four hours and that is why water supply closes early in many parts of the city," he said. "Another problem is electricity, which is required to lift water from the open canals."

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