Pune water supply disruption is expected to ease gradually after the Pune Municipal Corporation restored pumping operations at the Khadakwasla pumping station and began arranging additional pumping hours to address a shortfall caused by multiple electrical faults. Several areas, including the Peth neighbourhoods, Pune Station, Kharadi, Wadgaon Sheri, Bhandarkar Road, parts of Kothrud, Karve Nagar, Shivajinagar and Aundh, have reported delayed supply and low pressure.
According to Additional Municipal Commissioner Pavneet Kaur, normal power supply and pumping operations at Khadakwasla resumed at 8 am on November 1. The PMC has directed engineers to monitor distribution, prioritise low-pressure complaints and take corrective measures in affected zones. The civic administration is also giving special attention to maintaining water availability during the Diwali period.
The disruption followed a sequence of faults involving both Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited infrastructure and the PMC’s electrical installations. On October 30, an electrical cable fault at the Parvati Water Treatment Plant forced the shutdown of its 350 million litres per day old treatment plant for about four hours. Repairs were completed within that period, after which treatment and supply operations resumed.
A more substantial interruption occurred on October 31, when construction work damaged the MSEDCL express feeder supplying electricity from Nanded City to the Khadakwasla Pumping Station. MSEDCL arranged an alternative connection through the Urban Gram Express Feeder, but the overhead line later developed a short circuit after a monkey came into contact with the electrical infrastructure, Kaur said.
Although the short-circuit fault was rectified, a subsequent inspection found that two transformers at the Khadakwasla station had been damaged. The failures affected the pumping chain that moves raw water towards treatment and distribution facilities, creating a temporary shortfall in several supply zones.
To limit the impact, the PMC deployed diesel generator sets at the pumping station. The emergency arrangement maintained raw water pumping to the Warje Water Treatment Plant at approximately 80% capacity, with four of the station’s five pumps operating.
Vishwaraj Environment Limited, the station’s operating and maintenance agency, arranged two replacement transformers on a rental basis from a private supplier on October 31. Each transformer has a capacity of 1,200 kVA. One transformer was installed and commissioned, allowing normal power supply and pumping operations to resume on November 1. The second transformer was scheduled to be installed and commissioned the same day for the pumping section still operating on generator backup.
The PMC said the additional pumping hours would be provided to the maximum extent operationally feasible to compensate for the accumulated shortfall and improve water pressure. Engineers have been instructed to continue monitoring the distribution network and attend to complaints from affected localities on priority.
