Pune: Residents of several city areas have raised apprehensions about PMC’s plan to supply water to them every alternate day in designated evening and night hour slots. According to many of these citizens, they would prefer that the civic administration also provide water to them in the morning hours like other areas, which they argued is more convenient than the latter half of the day.Alternate day water supply across the city is set to come into effect from Monday and Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has declared its intention to supply water on odd and even dates and at different time slots. Some slots have been fixed for late evening and night hours. For instance, residents of Janwadi in Gokhalenagar said their area is to get water in the late evening hours, but argued that the timings are not suitable and will not help people meet their daily water requirements.Similarly, pockets around Aundh are also set to receive water in afternoon slots, but many here have demanded a shift to morning supply instead. Aundh resident Vikrant Patil said, “If the civic administration is going to supply water every alternate day, at least it should be done at timings that are suitable for residents. Morning hours are generally preferred by most, especially those who do not have water storage facilities in their homes.”Similarly, parts of Bopodi and Baner Road are slotted for afternoon and evening water supply. Bopodi resident Anil Kasar said, “PMC can at least provide water for two hours in the morning and then the rest in evening or night hours. This will help fill water tanks of housing societies. The administration needs to adopt a flexible approach in providing a basic resource like water to citizens.”Kothrud resident Nanda Kulkarni explained, “Not all people can use the water supplied during night hours, can only fill their tanks. PMC should prepare a plan to provide water during morning hours to maximum areas. There should be a close watch on water wastage and illegal connections should face action.”Citizens also expect PMC to ensure that the supply continues for the entire allocated duration at full pressure. Sandhya Satav, a resident of the Range Hills area, said that the water supply has been scheduled for four hours during the afternoon on even dates in her locality. “People will face shortages if PMC curtails the supply hours, leading to hardships. We demand that PMC maintain the supply schedule properly,” Satav cautioned.While supply is scheduled for five to six hours in most areas some areas are only going to receive it for three hours. For instance, parts of Apte Road, Bhandarkar Road, Prabhat Road, Law College Road, Shivajinagar gaothan and Deccan Gymkhana will receive water on every even date between 5am and 11am. The entire Balewadi area will get water in the afternoon on even dates for around six hours, while parts of Baner are to receive supply for around four hours. The Chikhalwadi locality of Bopodi is set to get water for two hours on even dates in the 11pm to 1am slot.Aundh Road resident Pramod Kokate pointed out, “We expect equitable water supply to all areas during this alternate day supply plan. Some areas are already getting more water while others are facing shortages. The new plan should not lead to further chaos.”Areas already getting water on alternate days will continue to receive it as per the existing schedules. In many areas, existing water supply time slots have not been changed, but they will only get supply on on odd or even dates from Monday onwards.Civic officials claimed they have attempted to provide water to areas based of the local population and water demand. An official told TOI, choosing anonymity, “We will look into all the issues and observe the impact of the schedule in the initial days.”
