Rain fails to revoke 40% water cut in city

Updated on: 07 July,2009 09:12 AM IST |
Kaumudi Gurjar |

Water cut to continue till July 15. PMC Officials reason that the situation is grave; residents fume over increasingly irregular supply

Water cut to continue till July 15. PMC Officials reason that the situation is grave; residents fume over increasingly irregular supply

Despite three days of showers, the PMC feels it is not yet time to revoke the 40 per cent water cut that was imposed in the city on July 1. Yesterday, irrigation department officials confirmed that there was just 0.8 thousand million cubic meters (TMC) of water left in the Panshet and Khadkwasla dams, which supply water to the city.

Superintendent Engineer Ashok Surve, Pune Irrigation Circle, said, "The situation is grave. The available stores of water will only last till July 25."

Surve added, "We have reduced the daily supply of water to the city from 1,100 million litres of water per day (MLD) to 700 MLD. In the last three days, just 40 mm rain was recorded in the catchment areas. The water level has increased by just 300 mc feet," he explained.

Last year, by July 5, 596 mm rain had been recorded in the catchment areas, compared to just 184 mm this year.

Surve said, "Residents of Kothrud, Dhanakawadi, Bibvewadi, Hadapsar, Mohammadwadi and Kharadi have dependingu00a0 on water canals in Camp." The PMC's water supply spokesperson said, "The cut will be imposed till July 15, after which we will review the water situation.