Pune: Residents of several city areas grappled with no water supply for the second consecutive day on Friday as PMC’s scheduled repair and maintenance work failed to meet the morning deadline, even as officials cited “technical reasons”. The skyrocketing summer heat added to citizens’ woes, with taps running dry till night hours in many localities.The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) water supply department had taken up 45 different types of repair and maintenance works during Thursday’s day-long closure. Supply was supposed to be restored by Friday morning, but water pumping to overhead storage tanks resumed only close to five hours late in the afternoon, hampering overall water distribution.The civic administration said that major seepage was detected at the Parvati water treatment plant (WTP), due to which repairs and installation of a flow meter to the pipeline were delayed. But flow meter installation and valve works at other WTPs were also completed later than scheduled timings.While PMC lifted water from the Mutha canal at Cantonment water works as part of temporary arrangements for residents, this only benefited some parts of the city.Bhavani Peth residents staged a rasta roko agitation on Friday to condemn frequent such disruptions in water supply. Supply to some areas of Deccan Gymkhana, Prabhat Road and Bhandarkar Road was restored on Friday evening, but pockets of Wadarwadi and Gokhalenagar failed to receive water till late on Friday night. Saket Pujari, a resident of Shivajinagar, said water supply was not restored to them till late evening. “PMC should provide water for the entire day, not just fixed hours, on Saturday and Sunday to compensate residents,” he said.Many corporators across the city also said they were receiving numerous calls from residents of their respective neighbourhoods about water supply not resuming as promised. Kunal Tilak, a corporator from the Peth areas, said, “PMC usually restores supply the morning after a day-long closure, but this was not the case on Friday. We received widespread complaints that taps ran dry till late afternoon. The administration should have planned this work better.“Punit Joshi, a corporator from Kothrud, said, “Many pockets here did not get water till Friday afternoon. No updates were sent by PMC about delays in restoration of supply. Residents were caught unawares, making matters worse.”Mentioning technical challenges, PMC water supply department head Nandkishor Jagtap said, “All critical works like installation of flow meters and valves were planned during Thursday’s closure. At some locations, the works took time due to technical challenges. This hampered water pumping and supply to overhead tanks. The administration has fixed flow meters to check inflow and outflow of water. Supply is expected to normalise by Saturday.“
