Residents of the industrial city of Pimpri-Chinchwad who have been getting alternate-day water supply will have to wait another two years to get daily water supply. The civic administration said unless the city starts getting additional water supply and the system is streamlined, it will not be in a position to provide everyday water supply.
The PCMC has been supplying water on alternate days since November 25, 2019.
“In a few days, we will start getting 100 MLD water from Andra dam. After that, we are expecting 167 MLD water from the Bhama Askhed dam. Besides, work on laying new pipelines is underway in some suburbs. All this will take two years’ time, after which we expect to start everyday water supply,” municipal commissioner Shekhar Singh told this paper.
The PCMC chief’s clarification has come in the wake of the rise in complaints related to water shortage from different areas in the city. Since March, the PCMC has received over 600 complaints till date relating to irregular water supply.
The PCMC chief, who recently held a Facebook Live event, said he has received several complaints regarding water supply issues from citizens. “Water has become a big issue and we are concentrating all our attention on it. We will need at least two years’ time to strengthen our system and strengthen our sources of water,” he said.
The PCMC chief said as part of their water supply streamlining measures, they are trying to sort out the system relating to water shortage. “We are setting up two Ground Service Reservoirs in Sector 23 of Durga Tekdi area. Besides, a new pipeline of bigger capacity will be set up from Nigdi to Dapodi. This is being done to ensure that the tail-end areas get their adequate stock of daily water. Those who get water through the pumping system have more complaints regarding water shortage. Those who get water through gravitational force have fewer complaints. The new initiatives will help ease this problem,” the PCMC chief said.
Joint city engineer Shrikant Savane said, “We are setting up two GSRs in Durva Tekdi areas, each one of 12 MLD. The pipeline through GSRs will be connected to the old underground connections. It will provide water through gravitational force. It will take at least one and a half years for us to lay the new pipelines from Dapodi to Nigdi. It will have more water-carrying capacity. The tail-end areas, especially like New Sangvi and Dapodi, will then have little to complain about water shortage.”
Apart from setting up GSRs and new pipelines, the PCMC chief said 40 per cent of the city will get 24×7 water. “The work of laying new pipelines for this project is underway,” he said.
“Currently, we are providing 1,400 litre of water every day to citizens with the hope that it lasts two days. Citizens are in the habit of throwing away water after two days. They believe that old water is not good for drinking purposes. This leads to water wastage. When we start supplying water every day, it will not lead to wastage as it is happening today,” Singh said.
At present, the PCMC lifts 510 MLD water from Pavana dam, which is located more than 40 km away in Maval taluka of Pune district. “Besides, we get 30 MLD more water from the share of Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation,” he added.
The PCMC chief said water leakage amounts to nearly 40 per cent and all efforts were underway to plug the loopholes. “We are taking action against illegal water connections and new pipelines are being laid to replace the old and leaking pipelines. So far, we have been able to stop 10-12 per cent water leakage,” he said.
