Water shortage in Baner housing societies

Jagran\City Plus

B D Narayankar

March 6, Baner (Pune): There's an acute shortage of water in almost 90 housing societies situated on Baner-Pashan Link Road. Residents of the affected societies complained that they had been receiving scant supply with a low pressure.

The hard-hit housing societies include Ozar Housing Society, Hills Scape Housing Society, Kubera Bahaar Housing Society and Anand Bahaar Housing Society. Residents complain that in the absence of adequate water supply, they have to buy water through private tankers at exorbitant rates. "Residents are angry and are unwilling to pay steep rates for private tankers," says Kubera Bahaar Housing Society chairman S S Shukla.

"Until 2008, we were getting 1 lakh litres of water supply everyday, but now we receive just 80,000 litres. We do have two borewells, but they are running dry. We had approached PMC officials, but to no avail. Now the only option is that we have hired four to five private tankers (50,000 litres capacity) everyday after shelling out Rs 2,400," he complains.

Shukla's grouse is that though Pune city gets water twice a day, Pashan residents get it only once a day. "We are being treated as second-class residents. Why hasn't the Pune Municipal Corporation augmented water supply," he adds.

As many housing societies and commercial complexes are coming up fast in the area, residents fear that the water supply would deplete further in future. "I don't know on what basis PMC is promising citizens 24x7 water supply. There is no proper long-term plan with PMC. It's unfortunate," says Hills Scape Housing Society manager Pramod Kamathe. He also rues that PMC has not done anything to take forward their application to provide new water connections to housing societies to augment water supply.

"The water pressure is very low between 8 to 11 am. What is the use if we get gushing water after 11 am because by that time most of the residents are at their workplaces," says Shailesh Madhavi, resident of Kubera Bahar.

The situation is expected to continue till PMC's ambitious Warje water treatment project becomes operational. The project is scheduled to be completed in the next one or two years and augment water supply by an additional 286 million litres per day. "This will redress the problem of water shortage in housing societies," says deputy engineer water supplies Pramod Nirbhavne.

Pashan and NCP corporator Pramod Nimhan says that the source of water supply for the area is proving to be insufficient. "Water is supplied from Warje, which is channelised to Chandni Chowk and is then distributed in this area. The capacity of the source at Warje is 100 mld, which is proving to be inadequate given the number of people now residing here," he explains.

He emphasizes that such townships should set up and make use of Sewage Treatment Plants for additional usage of water that is required for purposes like gardening, washing, etc. It would prove to be a better utilization of water that would otherwise be wasted and the supply received from pumping station would be enough for drinking purpose.

Kubera Bahaar Society in 2008 was getting 1 lakh litres of water supply everyday, but now it receives just 80,000 litres.