Pimpri-Chinchwad: Water supply has been a great concern for the growing population of Pimpri-Chinchwad since the year 2019, when the Pimpri-Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) decided on an alternate-day water supply to the city residents. With no elected representatives in the civic body since 2022, citizens had thought that after they came back, the water woes would cease. However, the on-ground situation tells a different story.
The PCMC elections were held on 15th January, and the results were announced on 16th January. Since then, corporators have assumed office. Also, Mayor Ravi Landge stated in February, when he took charge, that water remains his top priority. However, despite all this, the water woes of Pimpri-Chinchwad continue.
In the last 22 days, the Sarathi portal of PCMC has received a whopping 470 complaints across its eight regional ward offices, officials announced on Monday. The civic body claims that 182 have been solved and 288 remain pending. Officials have attributed the spike in complaints of inadequate and polluted water supply to the rising heat, as summer has already set in.
For context, Pimpri-Chinchwad residents have been grappling with an alternate-day water supply schedule since 25th November 2019. With the onset of summer, groundwater levels in borewells have depleted. This has forced citizens and housing societies to rely on expensive private water tankers.
Currently, the city receives 670 million litres per day (MLD). 550 MLD of it is received from the Pawana Dam, 90 MLD from the Andra Dam, and 30 MLD is provided by the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC). Despite this, the rapid population growth and the rise of high-rise buildings have outpaced the available supply, reported residents.
While demand is peaking, authorities have noted significant wastage, with some residents using drinking water to wash courtyards, roads, parking lots, and vehicles. Between 1st February and 22nd February, the 470 complaints filed primarily cited insufficient and contaminated supply. Regional Ward data shows that 'B' Ward recorded the highest number of grievances (90), while 'A' Ward recorded the lowest (34).
Ward-wise Complaint Statistics:
- Ward A – 34 complaints
- Ward B – 90 complaints
- Ward C – 60 complaints
- Ward D – 79 complaints
- Ward E – 44 complaints
- Ward F – 54 complaints
- Ward G – 47 complaints
- Ward H – 62 complaints
Total Complaints – 470
Residents’ Woes
Sanjeevan Sangle, Chairman of the Chikhali-Moshi-Pimpri-Chinchwad Housing Society Federation, said, "Supply is insufficient and irregular. Some societies have had to hire tankers since early February, which is straining their budgets. The Bhama Askhed Dam project must be completed urgently; otherwise, the water situation will become critical over the next three months."
Dattatray Deshmukh, Chairman of Pimpri-Chinchwad Co-operative Housing Society Federation, said, "Housing societies are being hit hard. PCMC is creating an artificial water scarcity, forcing residents to pay for tankers on top of property taxes. If societies have to manage their own waste and buy their own water, then the PCMC should not levy property taxes."
Santosh Kurlapkar, a resident of Vishal Nagar, said, “We had thought that ever since corporators came back, our situation would begin to improve. However, nothing is changing. Water is still supplied at low pressure, and sometimes it is polluted. The summer hasn't even started properly. God knows what the situation will be in April and May.”
Civic Body’s Efforts
Mahesh Baride, Executive Engineer at PCMC’s Water Supply Department, said, "Water complaints have increased slightly due to the start of summer. We are taking immediate action on reports of low pressure or contaminated supply. Citizens must not use drinking water for motors or washing courtyards. Action will be taken against those found wasting drinking water."
Mayor Ravi Landge, who assumed office on 6th February, has pledged to restore the daily water supply in Pimpri-Chinchwad. He announced that he was planning to replace the alternate-day system and that a regular water supply would be provided within six months.
Meanwhile, officials also said that the PCMC is pursuing multiple measures, including completing stalled infrastructure projects, reducing the city’s 40% water leakage through pipeline upgrades, and enforcing strict contractor accountability.
Key initiatives include accelerating the Bhama-Askhed pipeline, improving Andra Dam water utilisation, reviving the Pavana closed pipeline project, and cracking down on water wastage and pollution to address the city’s growing water crisis.
