Pune: Civic officials accompanied residents of Mohammadwadi and Undri on Wednesday to visit the site of overhead water storage tanks in the locality and discuss the status of pending works of transmission and distribution lines here.The officials said they plan to finish the remaining work of the transmission line in the Katraj-Kondhwa Road area by mid-May; after this, trials of the distribution network will begin, paving the way to improved water supply.A significant part of Mohammadwadi, NIBM Road, Undri and Kondhwa areas is not getting adequate water supply at the moment.Around 15 overhead tanks are ready in the area, but water supply to them has not begun due to pending work on a transmission line, which is supposed to fetch water from Wadgaon water works. The line is still not operational as the work has not finished in about a stretch of 150m due to technical challenges cited by Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC).TOI had on Wednesday reported delays in finishing pending work of the transmission line in the Katraj-Kondhwa Road area.Virendra Kelkar, in-charge of the Cantonment water works of PMC, who was present at joint visit, said the administration is taking all necessary steps to complete transmission line works at the earliest. “Most of the pipeline has been laid but the work along Katraj-Kondhwa Road is unfinished. We are trying to apply various methods to lay the line. Once ready, PMC will immediately start washing of the transmission and distribution lines, followed by trials. Successful completion of trials will pave the way to supply water from the overhead tanks to the local distribution network.”Kelkar said that there is a plan to cover maximum areas. “The overhead tanks are ready. In some areas, the distribution network is still not finished. We will be finishing pending work so that supply can be augmented,” he said.Nandkishor Jagtap, head of PMC’s water supply department, said they aim to provide water in the overhead tankers by mid-May. “The project has gone through many roadblocks but water will finally come. However, the supply will not be 24×7,” he told TOI.Residents of the Mohammadwadi, Undri and NIBM Road areas have long been urging completion of this pending work to operationalise water supply to overhead tanks and reduce dependency on water tankers, along with the major expenses they are incurring on the same.(With inputs by Joy Sengupta)PMC suspends planned water closure on ThursdayPMC on Wednesday evening announced suspension of Thursday’s scheduled water closure across the city. All areas would receive water as per the schedule, the civic water supply department declared. The closure was withdrawn against the backdrop of the strike by water tanker operators, which only ended late on Wednesday night. Officials also said the closure was withdrawn due to technical reasons.They added that the revised closure date would be announced shortly; in the meantime, water supply in the city will continue as usual.
