PMC

Bharatiya Janata Party

BJP

Pune Municipal Corporation

Varsha Tapkir

fringe

Shiv Sena

Congress Party

NCP

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena

Corporator Aditya Malve

Pune University

Dheeraj Ghate

Ambil Odha

Navnath Kamble

Umesh Joshi

Deccan Gymkhana-Pune University

Aruna Kamble

Chetan Tupe

Varasgaon

TMC

G Kulkarni

On Monday, at the first general body meeting to be held after the) came to power, the agenda of a majority of corporators from the new ruling administration was loud and clear — the age-old hassle of Pune’s water scarcity.Strangely, however, this clamour comes at a time when last year’s rainfall was satisfactory enough to fill up the city’s dams to above-average levels, subsequently prompting the civic body to increase water supply to twice daily in homes across the city. The corporation even went so far as to allow ‘rain dance’ events this Holi, which had earlier been suspended amid scarce water stores.Yet, as the newly helmed(PMC) general body meet proceeded, it was senior member of House, BJP’s, who first raised the water scarcity issue. Thereafter, more than 15 BJP corporators — mostly newcomers — ranging from the heart of the city to theareas, took up the same war cry, criticising the civic administration over both water shortages and contaminated supply. A handful of corporators from other parties, including, Congress, Nationalist) and(MNS) also echoed the same — but, it was largely elected representatives from BJP that rallied around this cause.from thearea, for instance, said, “It is most annoying that the public is not getting enough water.” Added corporatorfrom, “Before the election, regular water was supplied to our area. It was only recently that the supply suddenly became unpredictable.”Others who drew attention to this problem include BJP’s Gafur Pathan, Amol Balwadkar, Bhaiyya Jadhav, Prasanna Jagtap, Aba Tupe, Ajay Khedekar, Haridas Charvad, Parvin Chorbale, Sushil Mengade, Umesh Gaikwad, Dheeraj Ghate and, coming from areas including Koregaon Park, Sinhagad Road, Kondhwa, Wanowrie, Parvati, the Peths, Baner, Market Yard and more.When Mirror spoke to some residents from these areas, they seemed to echo the concerns., a resident from theward areas, “This uneven and unscheduled water supply has persisted for a month, and we don’t know why. If the irrigation department insists there is enough water in the dams, why is it not reflecting on ground?” Similarly,, who lives in Ambil Odha, said, “We only get water late in the evening now, and that is also contaminated and at very low pressure. None of us understand what the problem could be.”However,, opposition leader from the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), asserted, “It is most surprising that so many corporators — especially from BJP — are talking about water problems. Fringe areas always face this issue, but new and old corporators from the heart of the city raising this topic is astonishing. There is plenty of water in the dams.”Irrigation department statistics claim the four dams that supply water to the city (Khadakwasla, Panshet, Temghar and) all contain 12 thousand million cubic feet (TMC) of water at the moment; last year in the same month, this figure stood at 7.31. Before December last year, the city was receiving water every alternate day; now, it is supplied twice daily.Elaborating on possible obstacles, V, chief superintendent engineer of the PMC water supply department, shared, “It is illegal water connections that are hampering our regular water supply. Many people illegally take connections in one line, leading to a reduction of pressure and uneven supply. We are taking action against such connections. As for contaminated water, it happens largely when drainage pipes next to water pipes leak. That will be solved in conjunction with the respective local corporator.”However, he added, “Compared to last year, the city’s water situation is good. There have been no cuts and there are satisfactory stores in the dams. If there is uneven water supply, we will resolve it.”