Stock in dams likely to fulfil Pune's requirement till July 15

PUNE: Water in the dams catering to the city's needs will run dry by July 15 if the civic authorities continue to draw more water than agreed upon, say irrigation department officials.
While the water levels in the dams are better this time than last year, irrigation officials are miffed with the way the Pune Municipal Corporation is using water, and have cut the projected supply by 15 days.
According to P B Shelar, executive engineer at the Khadakwasla irrigation division, there is 2.78 thousand million cubic feet (TMC) of water in four dams - Khadakwasla, Panshet, Temghar and Varasgaon - supplying water to the city.
"As of Saturday, the dams are filled to 9.55% of their total capacity. This is better than the previous year's figure, which stood at 5.56% with 1.62 TMC. As per our earlier projections, there is supposed to be uninterrupted supply of water until July 31 in the absence of rainfall," Shelar told TOI.
However, those projections have gone for a toss because of PMC's excessive drawing of water, he said. "PMC is supposed to draw 1,350 million litres a day (MLD) of water. But they are drawing between 1,600-1,700 MLD, which will greatly affect the water levels in the dams. This usage will cut short water supply to the city by 15 days, bringing the run-out date to July 15," he added.
"The civic body needs to understand that this is a natural and public resource whose supply in the dams is controlled by rainfall. In case there is no proper rainfall in the coming days, the supply will be shortened and it is the PMC's moral responsibility to exercise some restraint," he said.
Shelar also raised concerns over the long-term supply of water to the city and its surrounding areas. PMC officials, however, denied that the civic body is drawing excess water.