PCMC’s water supply to some areas dirty, has worms: Residents

Pune: Residents of many small standalone houses and some slums in Sant Tukaramnagar, Nigdi Pradhikaran, Landewadi and Chikhali areas of Pimpri Chinchwad have complained that the civic water being supplied is either muddy, yellow or mixed with sewage with alleged presence of blood worms in certain cases.The problem has mainly persisted since the last few days, but some complainants said it arose six months ago and they had approached the Pimpri Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) over the issue.Local residents alleged that damaged drainage lines at multiple locations were leading to sewage mixing with potable water in pipelines. Sanjay Kulkarni of Sant Tukaramnagar said the issue had prevailed for long, but worsened in the last two to three days. "We have found blood worms in the water over the last two days. There has been no resolution despite repeated complaints," he said.Kulkarni further said the problem was raised before civic poll aspirants and was temporarily addressed, but resurfaced soon after the election results.Nazmeen Memon of Nigdi Pradhikaran's Ganganagar area also said worms had been found in the water supplied by PCMC. "Officials inspected the pipelines after I complained. They found a damaged drainage line, which was causing sewage and potable water to mix. They have assured us the issue will be resolved by Thursday evening," she said, adding that delays could impact residents' health.In Landewadi, Amol Warbhuvan said slum pockets have been particularly affected. "The problem has remained for nearly six months. No permanent solution was found despite repeated complaints. Residents are being forced to buy drinking water, which many cannot afford. At several locations, sewage from damaged drainage lines is entering potable water pipelines," he said.Though no major outbreak has been reported, so far, residents of Patilnagar and Chikhali said some people have experienced vomiting, stomach ache and nausea in recent days. They suspect it was linked to the contaminated supply. "We have been receiving polluted water for the last three to four days. More people may fall ill if the issue is not resolved soon," said Jyoti Gaware, resident of Patilnagar.Affected residents said they were forced to depend on private suppliers for potable water in the given situation where the civic body's water was yellowish and unsafe. It added to concerns as the PCMC already provides water only on alternate days in several areas.A senior PCMC official told TOI that there were no widespread complaints, but admitted to isolated cases which being addressed. "Such issues often occur in areas with unauthorised water connections, where improper tapping can lead to leakages and mixing of sewage from nearby drainage lines," the official said.The issue of unauthorised water connections was also raised during a recent general body meeting by leader of the house Prashant Shitole. He said that while over 7.5 lakh properties are registered with the civic body, only around 1.8 lakh authorised water connections exist — indicating a large number of illegal ones.