Pune’s water supply was disrupted across central areas and several suburbs after three consecutive electricity-related failures affected municipal pumping and treatment infrastructure, with the Pune Municipal Corporation saying supply was restored on Sunday and additional pumping would be used for affected neighbourhoods.
The disruption followed a scheduled citywide water shutdown on Thursday, a cable failure at the Parvati water treatment plant on Friday and a power interruption at the Khadakwasla pumping station on Saturday. Residents in several parts of Pune subsequently reported delayed supply and low water pressure.
The failure at the Parvati plant forced the older 350-million-litre-per-day treatment facility to remain shut for about four hours on Friday. The system was repaired and restarted, according to the report. The following day, an MSEDCL express feeder cable supplying electricity to the Khadakwasla pumping station was severed during construction work.
After an alternative power supply was arranged, a short circuit occurred when a monkey came into contact with an overhead electrical line. The incident damaged two transformers at the pumping station and affected pumping operations supplying the Warje water treatment plant.
The municipal corporation started generators and kept four of the station’s five pumps operating. This allowed water pumping to continue at about 80 per cent of capacity while repairs were undertaken. The civic body also hired two transformers, each with a capacity of 1,200 kVA, from a private supplier. One transformer had been installed and commissioned, while work on installing the second was continuing on Sunday evening.
The affected areas included central peth neighbourhoods, the station area, Kharadi, Wadgaon Sheri, parts of Bhandarkar Road, parts of Kothrud, Karvenagar, Shivajinagar and Aundh. Residents in these areas received water late or at reduced pressure, with the disruption occurring shortly before Diwali.
The municipal corporation said additional pumping would be carried out for areas that experienced the greatest impact. Engineers have also been instructed to monitor the distribution network while supply is being normalised, municipal water-supply department superintendent engineer Nandkishor Jagtap said, according to the report.
The sequence of failures affected different parts of Pune’s water system over three days: scheduled shutdowns reduced the regular supply window, the Parvati treatment plant cable failure temporarily cut treatment capacity, and the Khadakwasla power and transformer failures reduced pumping capacity. The civic response has focused on temporary generation, hired transformers and extended pumping to restore distribution across the affected areas.
