Kasarwadi area residents talk to PCMC’s water department officials on Saturday. (Express photo: Rajesh Stephen)
Upset over irregular water supply in Kasarwadi and Dapodi areas, Asha Shendge, a corporator from the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) locked up Joint City Engineer Makrand Nikam and other officials of the water supply department for four hours inside a room below a water tank.
The officials were locked inside the room from 10. 15 am to 2.30 pm, on Saturday. The water supply was restored by 5 pm. Shendge told them that they would be released only when the water supply was restored. However, the officials were released at 2.30 pm after Municipal Commissioner Shravan Hardikar called up Shendge.
Water supply in Kasarwadi and Dapodi has been irregular for months.
“There’s no water supply for the past five days. Local residents are agitated over this; they are facing a shortage of drinking water as well,” Shendge said, adding that the officials were locked inside a room below the water tank in Kasarwadi.
Shendge locked the officials inside the room when they were having tea.
The officials requested her to let them out but she told them they could come out when water supply was restored in the area.
Shendge said she locked up the officials under pressure from the public as despite several reassurances, the water supply was not restored.
“The pipeline that supplies water to the area was clogged and needed urgent repairs. Due to unprecedented reasons which were not under our control, the repairs took more time than usual,” Tambe said, adding that the civic body had tried to restore the water supply on time, but due to air locking and other reasons, the desired water pressure was not achieved and hence water could not reach the area.
He added, “The water supply in Kasarwadi area was irregular due to the lengthy approval process of water supply projects. But recently, we have received permission to draw a pipeline from Vallabhnagar dam, through a railway crossing.”