Pune: Widespread water shortage severely impacted several major neighbourhoods across the city on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, after a cascade of power failures left local distribution networks depleted and operating under low pressure.Disruptions heavily affected central, eastern and western pockets of the city, leaving thousands of households struggling with delayed and low-pressure water supply during the pre-festival weekend. These were not only supply failures of Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Co Ltd (MSEDCL), but also an internal power supply issue at PMC’s Parvati water pumping station.“In Khadakwasla, a replacement 1,200 kVA transformer was successfully installed, allowing normal mains power and pumping operations to resume around 8am on Sunday. To clear the accumulated deficit, Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has initiated extended pumping hours, targeting low-pressure pockets in affected areas,” said Nandkishor Jagtap, head of PMC’s water supply department.According to residents, the civic administration should have prepared itself adequately and anticipated such disruptions.“Citizens are already suffering due to the heavy water cuts every Thursday. If the situation does not improve over the next two days, it represents a major failure on part of PMC,” said Pradeep Kulkarni, a resident of Kothrud.Nitin Kadam, a resident of Sahakarnagar, said that PMC must take responsibility for the inconvenience caused. “Civic officials had claimed that residents would not be affected by water supply shortages during the festive period. However, the ground reality is very different and worrisome. Taxpayers are suffering through no fault of their own, which is completely unacceptable,” he said.Vivek Velankar of Sajag Nagrik Manch, a citizens’ advocacy group, stated that PMC must ensure adequate water is supplied to residents and provide accurate information regarding water availability. “What management plan was approved last week regarding the approximately 24 TMC of water available in the Khadakwasla dam circle?” asked Velankar.He added that reports indicate a decision was taken to reserve 13 TMC of water for Pune. “People must know whether this 13 TMC reservation is intended for the period from Nov 1, 2026, to Aug 31, 2027, or from July 1, 2026 to Aug 31, 2027,” Velankar remarked.The scheduled weekly shutdown on Thursday, followed by consecutive electrical failures on Friday and Saturday, adversely impacted water supply across various parts of the city. In particular, complaints regarding low pressure and delayed supply were received from all Peth areas, Pune railway station area, Kharadi, Wadgaon Sheri, Bhandarkar Road, parts of Kothrud, Karvenagar, Shivajinagar, Aundh and several other localities.These consecutive interruptions created a temporary shortfall in water distribution across certain zones.
