Water helpline flooded with calls; residents left high & dry in Pune

PUNE: The water supply helpline of the civic body is flooding with calls these days, but residents claimed that issues were not getting resolved even after several conversations over the phone.
The call centre has so far received 1,100 calls on low pressure supply and non-availability of water after it was launched in February. According to civic activists, the purpose of starting the helpline would be defeated if problems are not resolved.

The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) officials said the helpline was connected to ward offices for quick response. "Complaints are getting forwarded to ward offices with immediate effect and most of them are being resolved. The problems that require long-term solutions will take time," said Aniruddha Pawaskar, the head of PMC's water supply department.
According to PMC, the helpline is receiving calls from Peth areas and the 23 merged areas. Most calls are from the fringes, where the water supply infrastructure is poor.
Rohidas Atole of Bhekrainagar said, "We had complained about mismanagement of water distribution and valve operators. After the complaints, things hardly improved. A delegation of residents had to meet the mischievous valve operators a couple times to find out the solution."
Tanaji Sawant, a resident of Handedwadi, said, "After a complaint is lodged, some solution is given. But the same issue crops up after some time."
Vijay Kumbhar, a citizen activist with Surajya Sangharsh Samiti, said the civic officials and tanker operators had a nexus. "The financial interest in providing water through tankers is delaying the infrastructure improvement," he said.
The helpline has given relief to some residents, though. Prashant Sadare from Sinhagad Road said, "We earlier had water supply in low pressure. Internal pipelines were cleaned and repaired after a complaint was lodged. Now, the problem has been resolved."