The department said it feared that the entire system would collapse if water supply was provided to the entire city in one go. Although Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) has failed to deliver on its promise of providing 24 X 7 water supply from November 1 to the entire town, officials of the civic water supply department on Wednesday said they plan to start round-the-clock supply in a phased manner.
“The administration had announced that we would regularise the water supply from November. However, we will not provide round the clock water at one go to the entire industrial city. We plan to go step by step,” PCMC executive engineer Pravin Ladkat told The Indian Express.
The department said it feared that the entire system would collapse if water supply was provided to the entire city in one go. “Instead of starting the round the clock supply in one go, we plan to start it in one particular area for a few days. And then observe the situation. If everything is okay, we will proceed to implement the plan in another area. Likewise, we will in a phased manner implement the round-the-clock water supply,” he said.
Initially, Ladkat said, they plan to start round-the-clock supply in slums. “After that, we will go to chawls. Residential societies will remain last on our agenda. This is because there is no need for round-the-clock supply in societies once their underground water tank is filled. If we provide them with continuous water, they will not be able to store them. Therefore, slums and chawls will be ideal to start with as they do not have adequate storage facilities. If they get 24 X 7 water, they will not need to store them up,” he said.
The entire Pimpri-Chinchwad has been getting water supply on alternate days since 2019. Initially, it was said that the system would be in place for only two months. However, the then civic administration led by municipal commissioner Shravan Hardikar said it was not in a position to restore daily water supply as it did not have the necessary system or storage capacity.
It was only after Rajesh Patil took over as the municipal commissioner, things speeded up on the water front with the announcement three months ago that the administration would provide 24 X 7 water supply from November.
Ladkat said he would hold a meeting with the municipal commissioner to plan the new supply system. “The commissioner will have a say. We will put before him all the facts related to the water situation. Once he gives us a go-ahead, we will start implementing the system,” he said.
– Stay updated with the latest Pune news. Follow Express Pune on Twitter here and on Facebook here. You can also join our Express Pune Telegram channel here.
- The Indian Express website has been rated GREEN for its credibility and trustworthiness by Newsguard, a global service that rates news sources for their journalistic standards.
