The Khadakwasla dam reached capacity as a result of the recent days' nonstop rain, causing the administration to begin releasing water into the Mutha river at a rate of 1,000 cusecs around 5 p.m. on Tuesday. The water resources department warned residents of low-lying districts and those who lived along the banks of the Mutha River against potential flooding when water started to be released from the dam. Political groups and community leaders urged Vikram Kumar, the municipal commissioner, to end the once-weekly water cut that has been in place in much of the city since May of this year.
The Pune Municipal Corporation's (PMC) water department, however, stated that it will wait another week to assess the water stock in the dams before making a decision regarding the weekly water cut. Aniruddha Pawaskar, the head of the PMC's water department, said, "The civic body will review the water storage and rain situation after a week and then take a decision on the water cut."
Although the Khadakwasla dam is full, according to another PMC official, its storage capacity is reduced. "The PMC needs to wait for other dams, namely Panshet, Temghar, and Warasgaon, to fill up before deciding on the water cut," he claimed.
Siddharth Shirole, a BJP lawmaker from Shivajinagar, met Pawaskar earlier in the day and asked that the water cut be canceled. I contacted the supervising engineer and head of the PMC water supply department, Aniruddha Pawaskar, and pleaded with him to stop the city's once-weekly water cuts in light of the recent adequate rainfall in the catchment districts. Shirole tweeted that Pawaskar had promised to "closely monitor the situation for another week, assess the rainfall and storage, and then take an informed decision to roll back the water cuts."
