Ensure water is fully restored on Fridays, citizens tell PMC

PUNE: Citizens and former corporators from the city have urged the civic body to restore supply of water at full capacity on Fridays after the closure the previous day.
From this Thursday, water supply will be cut once a week as a precautionary measure in view of El Nino's likely impact on monsoon this year.

Many residents have complained that it takes at least one or two days for water supply to be restored fully following a day of closure and said that this leads to additional hardship.
Deepali Dhumal, former corporator and NCP leader from Warje, said the administration should maintain adequate storage in overhead tanks to restart the supply on Friday morning so that people do not face problems.
The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has said that the once-a-week closure will remain in force till further notice. During the closure period, the administration has planned repair and maintenance works of pipelines to plug leakages.
Vishal Tambe, former corporator from Dhankawadi said that his area was already facing a severe water crisis and once-a-week closure would put additional burden on citizens.
"The administration always announces restoration of supply on the next day of closure, but it never happens. The tail-end areas face maximum problems. Areas like Dhankawadi and Katraj, which are located on the upper side, are always at the receiving end. There is a need to ensure that all areas receive water at adequate pressure on Friday itself," Tambe said.
Civic activist Vivek Velankar said that once-a-week water closure should not benefit the tanker lobby as the demand for tankers is expected to go up on Thursdays.
"Dams have adequate water stock, in fact there is more stock in dams than last year. PMC should rethink if there is a need to introduce water closure," said former corporator Prashant Jagtap.
Meanwhile, officials from PMC said that air valves are installed at the distribution lines in 20 locations to eliminate disruptions in water supply post closure. Engineers have been asked to remain on the field to monitor restoration in their respective areas.
Aniruddha Pawaskar, head of PMC's water supply department, said: "Closure is being introduced as a precautionary measure. We have taken measures to avoid disruptions. Our team will inspect the after-effects of the closure on Thursday and Friday".
Another official said that tankers will be deployed as stand-by arrangements in case of severe scarcity of water.