The water resources department has to provide water for irrigation along with meeting drinking water needs of the public in the district. (Representational) In the backdrop of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicting less than the average rainfall, the district water resources department and Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) are holding a joint meeting on Tuesday to discuss necessary measures to be implemented for handling the possible water scarcity situation in the city.
“IMD has predicted less monsoon rain than the average rainfall this year. Thus, there will be a discussion on the judicious use of water available in the dams’ water supply to the city,” said Pune Municipal Commissioner Vikram Kumar.
The district water resources department has already urged the civic body to judiciously use water considering the delay in the onset of monsoon. It wants to ensure that the water lasts till August 15 as compared to the usual deadline of July 15.
The water resources department has to provide water for irrigation along with meeting drinking water needs of the public in the district. In the past, the PMC had introduced water cuts to mitigate the situation and had also taken steps such as imposing a ban on using water for construction activities, washing centres, etc.
It had also taken control of the wells across the city so as to use groundwater during emergency situations. It also imposed regulation on water tankers as they take exorbitant charges from the people.
The Bombay high court is already hearing a case regarding the insufficient water supply in parts of the city and has directed the administration to constitute a committee to address the grievances of citizens.