The Water Resources Department has deployed eight security guards along the Nira Left Canal to prevent illegal water diversions during the current release to Shetfal Lake in Indapur, Pune district. The department said the deployment is intended to ensure that water reaches the lake at full pressure, after repeated unauthorised withdrawals had reduced the flow reaching the reservoir.
The guards have been appointed through the Pune District Security Guards Board and will patrol the canal day and night. They will monitor the heads of each distributary, where small gates locally known as chimneys can be opened to divert water towards farms.
Assistant engineers V. P. Kate and Rohit Jhanjhane, along with branch engineer Ratan Jhagde, said the release from the Nira Left Canal to Shetfal Lake had begun and that the security arrangement was in place at the canal headworks. The department said all eight guards are from Bhor taluka and include Arun Tupe and Pandurang Kumkar.
According to the department, farmers had opened the small gates at distributary heads during several previous water rotations, particularly at night, to draw water illegally for agricultural use. These diversions reduced the pressure in the canal and prevented sufficient water from reaching Shetfal Lake, which did not fill as intended.
The current intervention places security personnel directly along the water-delivery network rather than relying only on warnings after diversion has occurred. The department has appealed to farmers not to take water illegally from the distributary heads and warned that action would be taken under the applicable rules against anyone found diverting water.
The release is significant for settlements around Shetfal because the lake supports both drinking-water requirements and agriculture. The report said the lake’s storage had fallen over the past few months, increasing concern among farmers in the area. If the current rotation fills the lake, the department expects local water shortages to ease for a limited period.
The intervention also highlights the pressure on a canal system serving multiple competing needs. With rainfall described as deficient this year, the water released through the Nira Left Canal is expected to support drinking-water and agricultural planning for the next eight months, according to the report. In that context, unauthorised withdrawals before the water reaches the lake can directly affect downstream availability.
The Water Resources Department’s immediate next step is to continue round-the-clock patrols at the canal and distributary heads while the rotation is in progress. The department has linked the duration of the security deployment to the need to protect the release and ensure that water reaches Shetfal Lake as planned.
