Pune: The Pune Municipal Corporation on Monday ruled out any plans to impose immediate water cuts in the city, despite mounting pressure from the state irrigation department, bringing major relief for several neighbourhoods already grappling with low pressure and patchy supply.The reassurance comes even as the irrigation department, flagging fears of El Niño and below-normal monsoon rainfall, had urged the civic administration a couple of weeks back to slash water supply by 15% to stretch dam reserves through the harsh summer months.Putting all speculations to rest, municipal commissioner Naval Kishore Ram said the administration was keeping a close watch but there was no plan to impose water cuts pull the plug, at least for now. “There is no proposal to reduce water supply with immediate effect. We are monitoring dam levels and daily lifting. If the situation demands it later, a decision will be taken accordingly,” Ram said.The municipal commissioner’s statement echoed the political mood within PMC, where corporators have strongly opposed any abrupt water cuts, arguing that the dams’ collective stock was better placed than last year. Irrigation department also backs their argument. On Monday, the combined storage in the four dams supplying water to the city stood at 11.5 TMC (39%), 1 TMC more than the 10.4 TMC (36%) recorded on the same date last year.For residents, the announcement came as a huge breather. With many neighbourhoods already complaining of erratic timings and weak flow, the prospect of formal cuts had sparked anxiety. Civic activists, meanwhile, continued to push for coordinated planning between Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) and irrigation department to ensure the city did not stumble into a full-blown water crisis by peak summer.Resident Rakesh Gaikwad said imposing water cuts could not be a long-term solution. “The city is already facing a water shortage, which is leading to hardships among residents. Instead of imposing water cuts, the authorities should improve upon water distribution,” Gaikwad said.Earlier, the irrigation department had written to PMC urging restraint, saying reduced supply could help ensure water availability till Aug-end, instead of the more precarious July 15-mark. Officials from the irrigation department also claimed that PMC was currently lifting more water than its stipulated quota, adding another layer of tension to the back-and-forth.Rahul Kale, another resident, said PMC faced an uphill task in managing the city’s water supply during summer, despite all dams reaching full capacity during the previous monsoon. “Many areas still do not receive daily water and any supply cuts will worsen the situation,” he said.Standing committee chairman Shrinath Bhimale had last week firmly backed the administration’s stand, saying the city’s water supply would not be cut despite appeals from the irrigation department. The issue is, however, far from settled. Sources within the irrigation department said the final call on water cuts might come from the canal committee, a meeting that had been stalled due to the ongoing Baramati assembly byelection.
