Pune: It is a difficult summer for garden nurseries as groundwater levels in borewells and open wells have dropped sharply, affecting the water-intensive business of maintaining thousands of plants and saplings.“Water level in borewells has dropped significantly. We cannot afford tanker water to run the business and have reduced production this year. We are also rationing supply so that all the plants get adequate water,” said Amol Jagtap, who runs Venkateshwara Nursery.Wholesale nurseries are typically spread over 5 acres and require about 40,000 to 50,000 litres of water a day. Each of these nurseries house saplings, flowering plants, indoor plants, succulents and outdoor plants. “We are awaiting the rains as business has suffered a huge setback this summer. On an average, 20%-30% of the plants stand damaged,” said a nursery owner in Hadapsar.Pritam More, owner of More Gardens, said, “We used to run out of water from our well in 1.5 hours, now it happens in an hour. Plants tolerant of the summer heat were also affected this year. Fluctuations in electricity have damaged pumps used to pull water from the well. Moreover, tankers are charging anywhere between Rs800-Rs1,000 for 10,000 litre of water.”A lot of nurseries have reduced the overall production of plants because of water issues. Lakshmikant Kavade, owner of Pushpanjali Rose Nursery, said, “We have increased supply of landscape plants because it requires less water and are more in demand. Water in our well has hit very low levels.”There are around 250 garden nurseries in the city, with a large majority of the wholesale nurseries located along the Pune-Solapur Road and Uruli Kanchan belt.Small roadside nurseries are also facing water scarcity. Kishore Jaiswal, who runs a nursery in Wanowrie, said, “So many plants have died in transportation. Also, there are very few buyers in the summer. We are rotating the plants in the shade so less water is required.”
