Pune’s weekly water cut disrupted supply across several parts of the city on Friday, with residents in the central peth areas, Kharadi, Hadapsar, Aundh, Bopodi, Bibwewadi and Kondhwa reporting delayed or low-pressure water supply. The Pune Municipal Corporation’s water-supply department said complaints were received from areas at the tail end of the distribution network and that supply was restored after the afternoon.
The disruption followed the civic body’s decision to stop water supply every Thursday across the city. The weekly cut is being implemented after the state government directed reductions in water supply amid concerns over lower storage in the Khadakwasla water project compared with the previous year.
According to the report by Lokmat – Pune, the Khadakwasla project has 3.5 thousand million cubic feet, or TMC, less water storage than it had at the same time last year. The state government has issued the reduction directions because Pune may face more severe water scarcity in the future.
Under the municipal schedule, water supply was stopped on Thursday. Residents were expected to receive adequate water at normal pressure on Friday morning after the planned interruption. However, several areas experienced delays, while locations that did receive water reported insufficient pressure and lower availability.
The affected locations included parts of central Pune, Kharadi in the city’s east, Hadapsar, Aundh, Bopodi, Bibwewadi and Kondhwa. The spread of complaints across different parts of the city indicated that the impact was not confined to a single neighbourhood or one local distribution line.
The municipal water-supply department received complaints during the day and worked to restore supply. The department attributed the complaints to areas located at the end of water-supply pipelines, where water reached later and at lower pressure after the interruption.
The supply was reported to have become normal after the afternoon. The weekly Thursday shutdown is expected to remain part of Pune’s water-management measures as the city responds to reduced storage in the Khadakwasla system and the state government’s directions to limit water use.
