Pune: The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) will start trial runs of its long-pending 24x7 equitable water supply project in around 60 water distribution zones from next month. The civic body has completed nearly 88% of the civil work, officials said.
The initial trials will be carried out in areas where major infrastructure, including overhead water tanks and new pipelines, is close to completion. During the testing phase, PMC will record meter readings and generate sample water bills to check whether the billing and distribution systems are working properly. Residents will not be charged for water during the trial period.
The project has been in the works for nearly a decade but is yet to become fully operational across the city. It gained fresh attention after Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis directed the PMC last month to speed up the remaining work and complete the scheme at the earliest.
PMC officials said the project is intended to address uneven water distribution in different parts of Pune. Several areas currently face issues due to limited pipeline networks and inadequate overhead storage capacity.
Under the project, the civic body plans to build 83 overhead water storage tanks, lay more than 1,000 km of new distribution pipelines and install around 2.75 lakh water meters. The city has been divided into 144 water distribution zones for the implementation of the scheme.
Of these, work in nearly 60 zones has reached the final stage, and these areas are expected to be covered in the first phase of trials. The system is designed to improve water pressure, reduce distribution losses and provide a more balanced supply across the city.
Water meters are a key part of the project, but their installation has faced opposition from some residents and housing societies. PMC officials have held several meetings with citizens and local representatives to explain the project and address concerns over the meters.
The trial phase will allow the civic administration to identify technical issues before the system is introduced on a wider scale. PMC is also working out the detailed procedure for conducting the trials and monitoring the performance of the new distribution network.
