Pune: PMC’s three proposed water tanker filling stations for the city’s merged villages have seen little progress, with key approvals and infrastructure work still pending, despite three-and-a-half months having passed since the announcement. Officials now say residents are unlikely to benefit from the facilities before next summer.In the last week of June, Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) proposed new tanker filling points to address chronic water shortages in the fringe areas that still depend heavily on tanker supply. Required approvals from the traffic police, no-objection certificates (NOCs) from the amenity space committee and the pipeline-laying work are still pending for the project.According to civic officials, the first tanker filling station is planned at Dukkar Khind, on Kothrud-Warje border, on amenity space land acquired by the civic body. The facility will draw water from the main pipeline running from Warje towards Chandni Chowk and cater to Kothrud, Warje, Shivane and Bavdhan. At present, tankers serving these localities are filled at Patwardhan Baug.A second tanker point is proposed behind the fire station in Mohammadwadi to cater to the Undri-Pisoli belt. At present, tankers supplying water to the region have to travel from Padmavati for filling. The third facility, planned near Katraj Chowk, is expected to serve Gujarwadi, Nimbalkarwadi and neighbouring localities, while reducing pressure on the Padmavati tanker station.“We have submitted our proposal to the department concerned for approvals. Work on the ground will begin once all formalities are completed. We are trying to complete the project at the earliest,” Hemant Jagtap, a senior official from PMC’s water supply department, said.Residents of the merged villages expressed frustration over the delay, saying years after their inclusion within the PMC limits, many areas still lacked a reliable piped water network. “Years have passed since our villages were brought under PMC, yet access to drinking water remains a struggle. The administration must fast-track both tap water infrastructure and tanker facilities,” Shrirang Chavan, a resident of one of the merged areas, said.
