Pune: Residents and elected representatives from the Pune’s merged areas are mounting pressure on Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC), demanding a rethink of the current alternate-day water schedule and replace it with a daily one-hour supply.Corporators from Khadakwasla, Kondhwe Dhavde, Shivne and Uttamnagar have formally approached PMC, saying the current system was failing their constituencies. They argued that what worked in the old city areas, where infrastructure was robust and well-established, simply did not translate to newly merged localities, where water distribution networks remained incomplete and fragile.For the past five days, the residents in these pockets have been surviving on barely an hour of water every alternate day, a system that is proving insufficient. “We have conveyed the ground reality to officials and suggested two workable options. Either provide water every day for one hour or extend supply to three hours on alternate days. The residents strongly feel that a daily one-hour supply is more practical and can be implemented without much difficulty,” corporator Subhash Nanekar said.On the ground, the situation is growing increasingly tense. In Khadakwasla, residents said the crisis was worsening by the day. “The water pressure has dropped drastically within a week. The supply doesn’t even last 45 minutes anymore. It’s becoming unmanageable,” resident Viraj Konde said.As taps run dry, dependency on private water tankers has surged, pushing households into a financial squeeze. With tanker operators hiking rates in the wake of water cuts, the residents are now paying a steep price for basic necessity. NCP (SP) leader and corporator Kaka Chavan said, “Most tankers catering to Sinhagad Road areas source water from the Wadgaon filling point. If PMC reduces charges there, operators can pass on the benefit to citizens. The administration must break this deadlock.”Wagholi faces looming crisis as key water source dries upIn Wagholi, supply has been disrupted since Friday after water levels in the Vadhu weir plunged to critically low levels. Residents are already feeling the pinch, with taps running dry and tanker dependence rising sharply. Local corporators and residents have demanded immediate intervention, including the deployment of additional tankers to avert a full-blown crisis. Discussions are also under way to release water into the Bhima river, a move that could revive storage levels in the weir and help restore supply.For now, however, the situation remains precarious, with PMC already relying heavily on tanker supply to keep Wagholi afloat.
