PUNE: The Pimpri Chinchwad
Municipal Corporation has been using water from rivers, nullahs or
run-off water from treatment plants for most of its gardens. The civic
body has been able to save nearly 75,000 litres of drinking water every
day.

Speaking to TOI, superintendent (gardens) Dattatreya
Gaikwad said the total area of all the municipal gardens in the city is
140 hectares. The corporation has been using water from borewells,
rivers or nullahs to water around 95 per cent of its gardens.

In Wakad, the corporation uses water from the Mula river for gardening.
Run-off water from water treatment plants is also being used to water
the Durgadevi garden at Nigdi as well as the Swami Samarth, Gajanan
Maharaj, Sant Dnyaneshwar and Sant Tukaram gardens. The water is also
used to water the plants on the road dividers and those in a nursery in
Pradhikaran.

Gaikwad said the civic body has proposed to lay a
new water pipeline from the Chikhli sewage treatment plant to the
Saikrishna and Shahu gardens. Earlier, the Shahu garden was supplied
with drinking water by the Maharashtra Industrial Development
Corporation (MIDC), which has now been stopped. Water from borewells in
the garden is inadequate to meet its needs. So the proposed pipeline
will supply water to the garden from the Chikhli plant. The civic
administration has tabled a proposal before the standing committee for
laying the pipeline with a length of 3km. The work is expected to be
completed by August once the proposal is approved.