Bhama-Askhed project in trouble yet again 

Pune: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s plan to inaugurate Bhama-Askhed water supply project, which will supply water from the Bhama-Askhed dam to Pune, is uncertain as the local villagers have once again stopped the work on the jackwell, which is part of the project. 

With an eye on the upcoming State Assembly polls, the BJP wanted to inaugurate the Bhama-Askhed water supply project. A month ago, BJP Minister Chandrakant Patil and MP Girish Bapat instructed the civic administration to complete the remaining work so that they can inaugurate the project before the State Assembly polls. 

The project began in 2014. The deadline was July 2017. However, it was delayed frequently due to agitations by the project affected people. 

The PMC resumed work with police protection to avoid any disturbance by the locals and the dam-affected people. The civic body handed over Rs 25 crore to the district administration to provide cash compensation to the affected people. 

However, the project affected people do not want cash, but land as compensation in nearby Khed taluka as the dam is located in Khed taluka. Now, they have forcefully stopped the jackwell work, which is a crucial part of the project. After the jackwell is complete, the project will be complete. 

PMC’s Water Supply Department Chief Superintendent VG Kulkarni said, “The villagers and project-affected people have stopped the work. Therefore, it is not possible to complete work in September.” 

The PMC has completed around 80 per cent work of the project so far. Once the project is complete, the city will receive 2.64 TMC water annually. Water brought through the pipeline will be stored in the tanks in Ahmednagar Road area.