Pune: Residents of Undri, Undri Hillside and Pisoli are staring at a severe water crisis, with borewells drying up, tanker prices soaring and no reliable civic supply in sight. For many, the fear is not whether there will be a summer water crisis, but how severe it will become.At Nyati Chesterfield in Undri, dependence on water tankers has risen from eight to 12 a day. Residents said they were paying PMC taxes, including water levy, for over nine years but still had not received a civic supply.At Nyati Chesterfield in Undri, dependence on water tankers has risen from eight to 12 a day. Residents said they had paid PMC taxes, including a water levy, for over nine years but were still awaiting a civic water connection. “We are paying Rs 800 per tanker and consumption has already increased because of the dry weather. After paying all PMC charges for years, it is frustrating to still depend entirely on water tankers,” resident Sunil Aiyer said.A similar situation prevails at Fortune Prospero Housing Society in Kondhwa Budruk. The 188-flat society has seen its daily tanker requirement double to 10-12 over the past few weeks amid erratic civic supply. Society president Firoz Shaikh said residents had been receiving PMC water only three to four times a week. “Every time we complain, we are told pipeline work is affecting supply. Last week, the shortage was so severe that we had to call tankers even for drinking water,” he said.The financial burden is mounting just as quickly. Resident Tanvi Shaikh said the society’s monthly water tanker expenditure had touched nearly Rs 1.5 lakh. “If we are struggling now, what will happen in April and May?” she asked.Pisoli’s Sai Shraddha Bungalow Society, home to 130 bungalows, already consumes about 40 tankers daily and expects demand to rise by another 10-15 as groundwater levels continue to fall. “The summer will be brutal. Borewells are drying up, tanker dependence is increasing and there is still no concrete plan for PMC water supply in our area,” senior society office bearer Tahseen Teerandaz said.Nyati Windchimes in Undri Hilltop currently requires around 16 tankers a day, a figure expected to touch 22 during peak summer months. “Tanker rates here have already climbed from Rs 600 to Rs 800. We have been hearing promises for years. Officials assure us that water projects are coming, but on the ground, nothing changes,” resident Sunil Koloti said.Even societies that recently got connected to the civic network remain dissatisfied. At Dorabjee Paradise Bungalow Society on NIBM Road Annexe, water supply finally started months after three overhead tanks were inaugurated earlier this year. But residents said the promised round-the-clock supply existed only on paper. “Water comes for barely two hours a day. The Thursday water cut disrupts supply further, pressure remains low the next day, and we may soon be forced back to tankers that could cost Rs 1,000 each,” society secretary Kishor Baligar said.PMC commissioner Naval Kishore Ram said the long-awaited development plan for Undri-Pisoli was being finalised and required a few more months for approval. For residents, however, patience is running dry faster than the borewells. Already juggling home loan EMIs, maintenance charges and civic taxes, many fear another summer of spiralling household expenses driven by water scarcity.“We have heard about the development plan for years,” a Pisoli resident said, adding, “What worries us now is simple. How will we afford another summer like this?”(With inputs from Alim Shaikh)
