Purandar’s Jai Ganesh Reservoir is holding 18.52 million cubic feet of water, or 94% of its capacity, but authorities have asked farmers not to draw water for irrigation as the storage is being reserved for drinking-water needs.
The reservoir is located at Pingori in Purandar taluka, Pune district. According to the report by Pudhari, sustained rainfall in the Pingori and Kawadewadi catchments at the end of July helped replenish the reservoir despite a subsequent pause in rainfall across the taluka.
Avinash Jagtap, branch officer of the Garade Irrigation Branch, said the available storage would be retained for drinking water in view of the possibility of shortages. He appealed to farmers not to pump water from the reservoir for agriculture and warned against unauthorised extraction.
The current storage has also been supported by water retained from the previous year. Pudhari reported that substantial pre-monsoon rainfall in May last year caused the reservoir to overflow in June, allowing water levels to remain high until this monsoon.
The reservoir had earlier been revived through desilting carried out by villagers during a drought. The work involved labour donated by residents, efforts supported by the Shreemant Dagdusheth Halwai Ganpati Trust and local resident Baba Shinde, and machinery provided by social organisations and the Rotary Club. The desilting was reported to have restored the reservoir and brought thousands of acres in the surrounding area under irrigation.
Despite the high storage level, the irrigation authority’s instruction reflects a distinction between water availability and water allocation. The report said the government’s planning provides for water in all reservoirs to remain reserved for drinking purposes until 31 August 2027. Farmers have been asked to cooperate with the restriction and avoid drawing water secretly from the reservoir.
