Pipeline repairs delayed, water supply to Pashan, Baner-Balewadi affected for 3rd day

Pune: Water supply to residents of Pashan, Sutarwadi, Baner and Balewadi areas was hampered for the third consecutive day as the civic body struggled to complete repairs to the main pipeline till Friday evening.Supply was expected to be restored at full capacity only on Saturday, but people were sceptical about the pressure being adequate.The pipeline bringing water to Baner and the adjacent areas developed a fault on Wednesday, leading to stoppage of supply to allow repairs. The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) started the repairs, but it extended over three days owing to technical challenges and non-availability of required parts of the valve.

Water supply department officials said replacement of the valve and other maintenance works were completed late on Friday evening.However, the three-day long water closure left residents irked. They said the administration should now supply water without cuts for the next two days. Residents also expressed displeasure over delays in completing the work.Pashan resident Vijay Kakade said the administration took too much time to correct the fault. “Three days is a long time. It shows that the PMC is not equipped to handle such situations,” he told TOI.

PMC officials said the administration planned to supply adequate water to the affected areas for the next two days. “We will either increase the supply time or tweak the distribution schedules. Options are being explored to handle the situation. The administration will also have to consider the schedule of nearby areas that depend on the said pipeline for water,” they added.Local corporators said they had told PMC to change the schedules and initiate all possible steps to resume supply and provide uninterrupted water. Local corporator Amol Balwadkar told TOI that the supply was expected to normalise on Saturday. “We will raise the issue with the administration if the areas in Baner-Balewadi-Sus fail to receive water,” he added.