Pune: The city may soon have to brace for tougher water restrictions, with an additional cut of up to 20% likely to be on the table when the Khadakwasla canal committee meets in the coming week to review water allocations for Pune city and its surrounding rural areas amid declining dam reserves. The meeting schedule is likely to be finalised by Tuesday.The high-stakes meeting, to be chaired by Pune’s guardian minister Sunetra Pawar, comes at a time when combined storage in the four dams in the Khadakwasla circle has dropped to 24.6 TMC — down from 28.9 TMC during the same period last year. The meeting was earlier postponed due to the model code of conduct for the graduates’ and teachers’ constituency elections.The irrigation department has already urged Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) to move towards alternate-day water supply, arguing that the shrinking reserves warranted stricter conservation measures. A PMC water supply department said, “Weekly water closures are already resulting in a significant reduction in supply. Additional cuts will further burden the distribution system.”“The existing weekly shutdowns are already translating into an effective 10-14% reduction in supply,” the official said, adding that the civic body is focusing on prudent use of drinking water and greater reuse of treated water.
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Civic officials are now pushing for a reduction in canal water releases to rural areas, a winter irrigation exercise that has been ongoing for the past month. “Under the current schedule, winter canal rotations were planned for 40-45 days, with nearly 4 TMC earmarked for agricultural use,” another official said.With competing demands from urban and rural stakeholders, however, the upcoming committee meeting is expected to witness intense discussions. A senior irrigation department official said, “The upcoming committee meeting will assess reservoir stocks, consumption patterns and future demand before taking a call on water allocations. Representatives from municipal corporations, industrial zones and elected bodies are expected to participate.”The situation has become more worrying because the dams had reached their full storage capacity of 29.15 TMC by the end of July. But a weak monsoon spell through Aug and Sept steadily eroded those gains, pushing reservoir levels downward and forcing authorities to reconsider water management plans much earlier than expected.Ahead of the canal committee’s decision, Pune mayor Manjusha Nagpure is expected to convene an all-party meeting to build consensus on the city’s response to the looming water challenge.Water for farms starts flowing again from Mundhwa jackwellThe irrigation department has resumed the release of treated water from Mundhwa jackwell through the baby canal after a temporary halt caused by canal maintenance works. The move follows criticism from activists, who had alleged that treated water earmarked for agriculture was not being fully utilised.Officials said the suspension was purely technical and that lifting operations had now restarted. “Nearly 6.5 TMC of treated water from PMC is scheduled to be released annually from the Mundhwa jackwell for agricultural use,” an official said.
