Pune water cuts left residents in Katraj without supply for two consecutive days this week after a scheduled rotational shutdown coincided with a citywide disruption linked to pipeline work at the Vadgaon water centre.
The Pune Municipal Corporation’s water supply department suspended supply from the Vadgaon centre on Thursday to install a flow meter on a pipeline. The interruption affected parts of Katraj that had already been scheduled for a rotational shutdown on either Wednesday or Friday, resulting in some residents going without water for two successive days.
The additional disruption came as the area was already dealing with scheduled water cuts linked to drought-related restrictions. Residents are also facing inconvenience from road-widening work on the Katraj-Kondhwa road, according to the report.
The immediate issue arose from the overlap between the regular rotational supply schedule and Thursday’s maintenance-related suspension. The municipal department had earlier clarified that areas supplied by the Vadgaon water centre would continue to face one scheduled shutdown a week, rather than a blanket shutdown every Thursday.
Nandkumar Jagtap, head of the Pune Municipal Corporation’s water supply department, said the Thursday suspension was necessary for the installation of the flow meter. The department’s explanation indicates that the additional interruption was linked to a specific pipeline-related work rather than a change to the regular weekly rotational schedule.
The department has also said that the existing rotational schedule will continue. It clarified that water supply from the Vadgaon centre will remain operational on Thursdays in the future, following the completion of the flow meter installation.
For residents, the disruption highlights how planned maintenance and rotational supply arrangements can combine to create longer interruptions at the neighbourhood level. A locality scheduled for a weekly shutdown can face an additional day without water when a citywide or facility-level interruption takes place on a different day.
The episode also underlines the dependence of Katraj and surrounding areas on the operating schedule of the Vadgaon water centre. The municipal department’s decision to install a flow meter is intended to support measurement of pipeline flows, but the work temporarily affected supply to areas already managing restricted availability.
The Pune Municipal Corporation has not announced a change to the weekly rotational system in the supplied report. Its water department has said that the regular schedule will continue and that Thursdays will remain operational for areas dependent on the Vadgaon water centre.
