Pune's Keshavnagar faces severe water shortage

28 Mar 2024 CW Team

According to Chandresh Yadav, who served as the chairman of Anandtara Whitefield Residences in Keshavnagar, he mentioned that their society, comprising 280 flats, relied almost entirely on water provided by private tanker operators. He noted that the water from the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) arrived only once every two weeks, and even then, it was only for 1-2 hours at best. Despite lodging numerous complaints, there had been no positive response from the PMC. He further added that recently, PMC had started sending just one water tanker per day, which was insufficient for the approximately 1,000 residents.

Expressing their grievances, the residents pointed out that housing societies were compelled to spend substantial sums of money every month to purchase water from private tanker operators to fulfill their drinking and utility requirements. Yadav expressed his discontent, stating that despite paying water taxes for the past 3-4 years, they received little to nothing in return from PMC. He believed that ideally, the civic body should compensate them for the significant expenses incurred.

Vikas Singh, a committee member of the Godrej Infinity society, revealed that they required 76 water tankers daily for their society, which comprised over 1,200 flats. Due to the absence of a PMC water pipeline, their monthly expenses amounted to Rs 11-12 lakh, totaling more than Rs 1 crore annually. He also noted a decline in the quality of water provided by private tanker operators over the past two months, leading to an increase in health issues such as gastrointestinal problems among the residents.

Pravin Amrutrao Tathe, representing the management committee of Atlantica East society in Keshavnagar, disclosed that their society, consisting of 163 flats, required 10 water tankers daily. Their current monthly water bill stood at Rs 3 lakh. Moreover, there was also a shortage of tanker water, exacerbating the difficulties faced by the residents.

The residents of Keshavnagar were deeply worried about the upcoming peak summer months due to a severe water shortage that had taken hold of the area as early as March, with minimal civic supply available. According to Chandresh Yadav, who served as the chairman of Anandtara Whitefield Residences in Keshavnagar, he mentioned that their society, comprising 280 flats, relied almost entirely on water provided by private tanker operators. He noted that the water from the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) arrived only once every two weeks, and even then, it was only for 1-2 hours at best. Despite lodging numerous complaints, there had been no positive response from the PMC. He further added that recently, PMC had started sending just one water tanker per day, which was insufficient for the approximately 1,000 residents. Expressing their grievances, the residents pointed out that housing societies were compelled to spend substantial sums of money every month to purchase water from private tanker operators to fulfill their drinking and utility requirements. Yadav expressed his discontent, stating that despite paying water taxes for the past 3-4 years, they received little to nothing in return from PMC. He believed that ideally, the civic body should compensate them for the significant expenses incurred. Vikas Singh, a committee member of the Godrej Infinity society, revealed that they required 76 water tankers daily for their society, which comprised over 1,200 flats. Due to the absence of a PMC water pipeline, their monthly expenses amounted to Rs 11-12 lakh, totaling more than Rs 1 crore annually. He also noted a decline in the quality of water provided by private tanker operators over the past two months, leading to an increase in health issues such as gastrointestinal problems among the residents. Pravin Amrutrao Tathe, representing the management committee of Atlantica East society in Keshavnagar, disclosed that their society, consisting of 163 flats, required 10 water tankers daily. Their current monthly water bill stood at Rs 3 lakh. Moreover, there was also a shortage of tanker water, exacerbating the difficulties faced by the residents.