Indian Express 4.11.2009
Irrigation dept wants to hike water cut
Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and the Irrigation Department on Wednesday meet to take a decision on implementation of a further water cut in the city.
The Irrigation Dept wants to bring a 5 per cent water cut in addition to the ten per cent already existing.
The civic authorities say that since ten per cent water cut is already there, it could be reduced to five per cent. Last week, the Irrigation Department suggested the civic body to implement water cut, taking into consideration the water needs for the remaining part of the year.
“Since there is only 85 per cent water storage in the dams at present, we have proposed to go for a total of 15 per cent slash in water supply. Whatever the civic body decides, we will provide less water to Pune Municipal Corporation for public distribution, since we have to conserve water. Less water storage in dams has compelled us to take the decision. Now, the civic body will have to take a decision on how the water should be distributed,” Avinash Surve, superintending engineer of Irrigation Dept said.
Chief of the civic water supply Pramod Nirbhavne said the Irrigation Dept had sent a letter proposing this move.
“At present, ten per cent water cut is being implemented in the city. However, it is only after the meeting, we will be able to take a decision” Nirbhavne said.
Civic activist of Sajag Nagrik Manch, Vivek Velankar said, “Puneites have been patient and cooperative for last three months over water cuts. Now, there talk about further water cut is going on. We can understand that due to the less, dams providing water to city are just 85 per cent full and hence 15 per cent water cut is essential. But at the same time, the civic body should stick to the specified amount of water cut.”
