Pune may face a 20% water cut, double the current reduction, after Mayor Manjusha Nagpure asked Municipal Commissioner Naval Kishore Ram to convene an all-party meeting on October 28 to discuss declining water storage in the dams supplying the city.
The Pune Municipal Corporation currently enforces a 10% water cut across the city. The arrangement, introduced on October 15 following directions to reduce consumption, includes a complete water supply shutdown every Thursday.
The proposed increase will be discussed by group leaders of all political parties at the meeting called by the mayor. Nagpure has also suggested inviting officials from the irrigation department to provide information on water availability and the condition of the reservoirs serving Pune.
A final decision on whether to raise the water cut has not yet been taken. The proposal will be considered after consultations involving municipal officials, political representatives and irrigation department officials.
The move follows a meeting held by Pune District Collector Jitendra Dudi on Thursday, during which local self-government bodies across the district were directed to plan for a 20% reduction in water consumption. The direction was issued to ensure that available water stocks last longer amid concerns over declining storage in the dams.
The matter was subsequently raised during a Pune Municipal Corporation general body meeting. Nagpure then asked the municipal commissioner to organise the October 28 consultation, placing the proposed citywide increase within the municipal decision-making process.
Pune’s current water management arrangement combines a 10% reduction in consumption with a weekly shutdown on Thursdays. The proposed change would increase the stated reduction to 20%, although the source report does not specify how the revised cut would be operationally implemented or whether the Thursday shutdown would also be altered.
The irrigation department’s participation is expected to focus the discussion on the availability of water in the dams and the supply position for the city. This is significant because the proposed cut is being considered in response to water storage levels rather than as a routine change to the municipal supply schedule.
For residents, the immediate position remains the existing 10% water cut and Thursday shutdown. Any increase to 20% will depend on the outcome of the meeting and the subsequent decision by the civic administration.
The October 28 meeting is the next formal milestone in the process. The PMC, political group leaders and irrigation officials are expected to deliberate on water availability, consumption reduction and whether the existing citywide cut should be increased.
