PUNE: City mayor Muralidhar Mohol and municipal commissioner Shekhar Gaikwad have sought cooperation from citizens for handing over land, laying of pipelines and installation of water meters to speed up the execution of 24x7 equitable water supply project, which aims to provide adequate water to every household by 2023.
The water supply project was taken up for execution in 2018. However, the administration has still not started construction of 18 overhead tanks out of the 82 proposed to be commissioned. The work has been stuck because of lack of land. The civic body has initiated talks with landowners and appealed to them to hand over the plots.
On Friday, the civic body published advertisements in newspapers, seeking cooperation from residents. The advertisement stated that citizens are presently suffering due to erratic and inadequate water supply, forcing them to depend on water tankers. It said that citizens would not face these issues in future as the administration was working on an equitable water supply scheme in 141 water divisions across the city. The advertisement sought cooperation from citizens.
Explaining the motive behind the advertisement, Mohol said that citizens’ positive approach would help in completion of the project within the deadline. None of areas in the city would have to depend on water tankers once the project becomes fully functional, he said.
Mohol said that the local citizens were opposed to laying pipelines. He cited instances where citizens have opposed installation of water meters or switched off meters. As the project is vital for improving water supply and plugging water leakages, citizens can approach the administration to clear any doubts about the project, instead of stalling work.
About 1,700km of pipeline is proposed to be laid and over 3lakh water meters are to be installed under the project in addition to commissioning of 82 overhead water tanks. The administration has so far laid 200km pipeline and installed 10,000 water meters.
Civic chief Shekhar Gaikwad said that he has asked the water supply department to take all necessary steps to expedite the work. “People are dependent on water tankers in many parts of the city to meet their daily requirements. There are flaws in the existing water supply system which the project aims to eliminate. The administration is putting in efforts to minimise citizens’ woes,” he said.
Aniruddha Pavaskar, head of the water supply department, said that he has held a series of meetings to review the ongoing work. “About 10% civil work has been completed so far, which includes construction of 29 water tanks. We are now putting in concentrated effort to get the land from landowners for 18 tanks. Each case is being handled separately. We are also holding talks with citizens in areas where water meters are being installed to clear their doubts and explain to them how the meters work,” he added.
The water supply project was taken up for execution in 2018. However, the administration has still not started construction of 18 overhead tanks out of the 82 proposed to be commissioned. The work has been stuck because of lack of land. The civic body has initiated talks with landowners and appealed to them to hand over the plots.
On Friday, the civic body published advertisements in newspapers, seeking cooperation from residents. The advertisement stated that citizens are presently suffering due to erratic and inadequate water supply, forcing them to depend on water tankers. It said that citizens would not face these issues in future as the administration was working on an equitable water supply scheme in 141 water divisions across the city. The advertisement sought cooperation from citizens.
Explaining the motive behind the advertisement, Mohol said that citizens’ positive approach would help in completion of the project within the deadline. None of areas in the city would have to depend on water tankers once the project becomes fully functional, he said.
Mohol said that the local citizens were opposed to laying pipelines. He cited instances where citizens have opposed installation of water meters or switched off meters. As the project is vital for improving water supply and plugging water leakages, citizens can approach the administration to clear any doubts about the project, instead of stalling work.
About 1,700km of pipeline is proposed to be laid and over 3lakh water meters are to be installed under the project in addition to commissioning of 82 overhead water tanks. The administration has so far laid 200km pipeline and installed 10,000 water meters.
Civic chief Shekhar Gaikwad said that he has asked the water supply department to take all necessary steps to expedite the work. “People are dependent on water tankers in many parts of the city to meet their daily requirements. There are flaws in the existing water supply system which the project aims to eliminate. The administration is putting in efforts to minimise citizens’ woes,” he said.
Aniruddha Pavaskar, head of the water supply department, said that he has held a series of meetings to review the ongoing work. “About 10% civil work has been completed so far, which includes construction of 29 water tanks. We are now putting in concentrated effort to get the land from landowners for 18 tanks. Each case is being handled separately. We are also holding talks with citizens in areas where water meters are being installed to clear their doubts and explain to them how the meters work,” he added.
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