Pune water cuts continued to disrupt supplies across the city on Friday, a day after the Pune Municipal Corporation began once-a-week curtailments, with residents reporting low pressure, prolonged outages and uncertainty over when normal distribution would resume.
The PMC introduced the cuts after relatively poor rainfall in August and September in the catchment areas of the dams supplying Pune. However, several localities did not receive the expected restoration of supply on the following day. Some housing societies were forced to ration stored water, while residents said the disruption affected daily routines, work schedules and household planning.
At NIBM Road, resident SN Balakrishnan said water was released at low pressure for about 45 minutes after Thursday’s cut, leaving the society unable to distribute adequate quantities. Residents had planned for a single day without supply, he said, but faced a second day of disruption and had no clear information about subsequent supplies. Balakrishnan urged the PMC water department to issue updates through SMS or WhatsApp groups.
Residents in Lohegaon and Khadakwasla also reported difficulties. Chandroba Sonar of Lohegaon said the absence of water during the early hours affected people whose workdays began early and continued late. Sopan Chavan of Khadakwasla said the PMC would also need to account for Pune’s floating population, including students and people arriving from drought-prone areas, as it plans supply for the coming months.
PMC officials said locations at the tail end of distribution pipelines were bearing the brunt of the cascading effect. A civic official told the Times of India that equipment had been installed at such points to boost water flow. PMC water supply department head Nandkishor Jagtap said complaints had been addressed and measures had been taken for areas experiencing chronic disruptions.
Residents, however, said the problem extended beyond the officially announced cut. Vijay Godbole of Prabhat Road said the area had not received water on Friday morning and that the situation had not improved by evening. Pune mayor Manjusha Nagpure acknowledged that the cascading effect of the cuts could continue for the next few days and said the civic administration should ensure adequate supply on the day after a scheduled cut.
The disruption comes as authorities consider stricter conservation measures. District collector Jitendra Dudi instructed the civic bodies of Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad to prepare plans for a 20% reduction in water use, with the stated aim of ensuring existing reserves last until August 31, 2027. Irrigation authorities have advocated a 25% supply cut and alternate-day distribution across Pune, citing dwindling reservoir storage.
According to irrigation officials, the four dams in the Khadakwasla cluster had about 20 TMC of usable water after accounting for dead storage, evaporation losses and contingency buffers. The Pavana dam was reported to be at 96.9% of its total 8.25 TMC capacity, while Andra dam stood at 95.54% of its 2.79 TMC capacity. Separately, PMC elected members decided to contribute one year’s salary to the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund for drought mitigation, though some members objected that the proposal had not been discussed with all parties.
The PMC’s next steps are expected to focus on restoring supply in affected areas, managing low-pressure zones and preparing for possible reductions or alternate-day distribution as officials assess reservoir reserves and demand in the months ahead.
