Shetfal Lake water supply has been placed under protection after the Water Resources Department deployed eight security guards along the Nira Left Canal to prevent illegal diversion and ensure that the release reaches the lake at full pressure. The move is intended to support drinking water and irrigation needs in Indapur taluka, where declining storage has raised concern among farmers and residents.
The department has started releasing a rotation of water from the Nira Left Canal to Shetfal Lake. Assistant engineers V. P. Kate and Rohit Jhanjhane, along with branch engineer Ratan Jhagade, said eight personnel from the Pune District Security Guards Board had been positioned at the canal headworks.
The guards, who are from Bhor taluka, include Arun Tupe and Pandurang Kumkar, among others. They will patrol the canal banks around the clock and monitor the headworks of each branch, or distributary, through which water can be diverted.
According to the department, farmers had opened small gates, locally referred to as chimneys, at distributary headworks during previous water rotations, particularly at night. The unauthorised withdrawals reduced the pressure and volume of water reaching Shetfal Lake, preventing the reservoir from filling completely.
The department has said that the security deployment is specifically intended to stop such theft during the current rotation. It has appealed to farmers not to take water illegally from the distributary headworks and warned that anyone found diverting water unlawfully will face action under the applicable rules.
The release comes as water levels in Shetfal Lake have remained low for several months. The lake is an important source for drinking water and farming in the surrounding area, and officials expect the rotation to ease shortages for a limited period if the lake fills as planned.
The department said the region has faced greater water stress after a weak monsoon. Water released through the canal will have to support drinking and agricultural requirements for the next eight months, increasing the importance of controlling losses and unauthorised withdrawals along the distribution network.
The deployment also highlights the operational challenge of managing a canal system where water intended for a reservoir is diverted across multiple branch points before reaching its destination. For the current rotation, the Water Resources Department is relying on continuous physical monitoring to protect the flow and ensure that the release reaches Shetfal Lake. Further relief will depend on the lake receiving the planned water and the department completing the ongoing rotation.
