The Pune Municipal Corporation has suspended its weekly Thursday water cut during the Diwali period, allowing the city’s water supply to continue on Thursdays, PMC Chief Engineer Nandkishor Jagtap said. The decision is intended to prevent disruption at a time when household water demand typically rises across Pune.
The civic administration had introduced a weekly water cut across the city as part of measures to conserve water. The schedule was linked to the water stock available in the dams supplying Pune and the need to manage reserves against future demand, according to the report.
The Thursday interruption has now been cancelled for the festive period. The PMC said the decision took into account the increase in water use associated with Diwali, including household cleaning, preparation of festive food, visits by relatives and other celebrations.
A full-day water cut during the festival could have caused inconvenience to residents, particularly households preparing for celebrations and receiving visitors. Continuing supply on Thursdays is therefore a temporary relaxation of the regular conservation measure rather than a withdrawal of the city’s broader effort to manage available water resources.
The weekly water cut was introduced because the civic administration is balancing current consumption with water available in the dams that supply Pune. The PMC has said that conservation remains necessary to ensure that existing reserves are used judiciously and that the city can meet future requirements.
The decision also illustrates the operational challenge faced by civic authorities when a fixed utility schedule overlaps with periods of increased household demand. While the Thursday water cut is being suspended during Diwali, the source report does not specify the exact dates for the relaxation or state when the weekly interruption will resume.
For residents, the immediate change means that water supply will continue on Thursdays during the Diwali period. The PMC’s regular weekly conservation measure otherwise remains part of its approach to managing available water stocks and meeting Pune’s requirements.
