PUNE: Seven years is a long wait for water. But, there is reason to rejoice for citizens of the eastern parts of Pune along Ahmednagar Road, including Wadgaonsheri, Chandannagar, Lohegaon, Dhanori and Kharadi. They will now get assured water supply from the Pune Municipal Corporation that completed the Bhama Askhed pipeline, recently.
Over 10 lakh citizens will benefit from the project. Water will come from the dam 50km away in Khed taluka via the pipeline. The project is another source of water supply for areas under the Pune Municipal Corporation.
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This is good news for people living in the eastern parts of Pune though they had to wait for seven long years. The Pune Municipal Corporation must now focus on completing the construction of storage tanks to enable efficient distribution of water. Local politicians have a greater responsibility in this and have to rise above party politics to ensure fast completion of the remaining work. Care must also be taken to prevent wastage of water because of leakage. The water distribution network must be regularly monitored, upgraded, and any seepage rectified on time.
The city’s supply system sources water daily from Khadakwasla dam which is fed by Varasgaon, Temghar and Panshet dams.
“This is good news. The Bhama Askhed pipeline is finally complete, and Vimannagar can now be tanker-free. But PMC must sustain the supply to every household. There are two large overhead tanks in our area, but they empty out quickly and are not filled regularly. We hope that the project helps maintain the supply to these tanks,” Vinayak Ragho, a Vimannagar resident said.
Actual supply will start around December 15. Much depends on the second and final phase of testing that the Pune Municipal Corporation will start from Tuesday. Most of the civil work pertaining to laying of pipelines and the construction of the jackwell have been completed.
Tuesday’s testing involves water supply from the jackwell to the water treatment plant. Next, the carrying capacity of the pipeline will be put through checks which will be completed in 10 days, after which water will flow through taps in households.
“The project is complete. We will now check the pipeline. Leakage detection and testing the strength of the welding and other joints will be done,” Yuvraj Deskhmukh, a senior PMC official, told TOI.
Other PMC officials said construction of storage tanks in the areas along Ahmednagar Road was underway at some places. Water will be distributed to various localities through these tanks.
Wadgaonsheri resident Pradeep Mohite said the PMC must ensure adequate and equitable supply to all the areas. Lakhs would benefit from the new arrangement, he added.
Good For Kondhwa, NIBM Areas Too
Every year, the PMC area will get nearly 2.6 TMC water from the dam. Currently, the per capita water availability for the eastern areas is around 170 litre. It will which is likely to increase to 250 litre after the water supply is streamlined.
The rest of the city will also gain, PMC officials said. Currently, Ahmednagar Road areas get water from the Cantonment water works.
Once the Bhama Askhed supply begins, the 170MLD water from the Cantonment water works will be diverted to Kondhwa, NIBM Road and surrounding areas.
The diversion of supply will depend on how well the new project works, officials said.
Getting Rid Of Tankers The new supply system can help Ahmednagar Road areas under the PMC get rid of their tanker dependency.
Another resident said the water situation in his society had improved somewhat over the past few years, but all large housing societies are still dependent on tankers.
“If the water supply from Bhama Askhed is good, it can save our area crores of rupees. But distribution is important. There is only one large overhead tank in our locality, and the other one is still some way from completion,” Deepak Patil from Kharadi said.
Wadgaonsheri MLA Sunil Tingre said inadequate water supply has been a decade long problem for Ahmednagar Road areas. “This pipeline will solve it. The matter was followed up with the PMC, the state government and the district administration to ensure faster completion of the project,” he added.