As many as 371 villages in Junnar, Ambegaon, Khed, Maval, Mulshi, Shirur and Indapur have been affected by Cyclone Nisarga.
As many as 103 villages across Pune District are suffering a severe water shortage, as piped supply has been stopped due to the power failure caused by Cyclone Nisarga last week.
The Pune Zilla Parishad has now sanctioned emergency funds to provide tankered water supply, as an interim measure, until Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Corporation Limited (MSEDCL) restores the power supply.
Zilla Parishad is also arranging for diesel water generator in some affected villages, so that water can be pumped using the power generated through them.
As many as 371 villages in Junnar, Ambegaon, Khed, Maval, Mulshi, Shirur and Indapur have been affected by Cyclone Nisarga. Apart from damaging standing crop across 7,874 hectares, and over 1,500 houses, the cyclone also uprooted several electricity polls, leading to the disruption of power supply.
“Residents of these 103 villages are experiencing water scarcity due to power failure,” said Ayush Prasad, Chief Executive Officer, Pune Zilla Parishad. “The MSEDCL has started repairing the damage and restoring the supply, but this might take a few days. Until then, it’s important that we make some interim arrangement of drinking water for these villages. Hence, we have decided to start tankered water supply to these villages after taking an emergency approval from the state government.”
This move will provide relief to about 83,000 residents of these villages. Generally, water supply using tankers is given in case of drought in the summer months.
Earlier, the state government handed over an assistance of Rs 4 lakh per person, as financial aid for those who lost their lives in the accidents caused by the cyclone. A total of four persons – including two in one family – died in three different incidents.