Pune to get water from fifth dam

Water from a fifth dam close to the city will cater to the growing demands of Pune in future. The central government has allocated funds under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission for a direct pipeline from the Bhama Askhed dam’s reservoir to Pune.
Water from the reservoir, some 40 km away, will benefit fast-growing areas on Pune-Ahmednagar Road like Dhanori, Kalas, Vadgaonsheri, Vimannagar, Wagholi and Kharadi which reel under water scarcity, especially during summer.
“The government has approved Rs.380 crore for the Bhama Askhed project and Rs.118 crore for the water treatment plant in Wadgaon Dhayari,” municipal commissioner Mahesh Pathak said.
The Pune Municipal Corporation’s standing committee had approved a plan to acquire land for laying a pipeline to bring 200 MLD water from Bhama Askhed. It then submitted the proposal and sought financial help from the state and central governments.
The plan to tap Bhama Askhed’s water was first announced by former municipal commissioner Pravinsinh Pardeshi when he had presented the civic budget in 2008-09.
According to a government resolution, 1.3 TMC water from Bhama Askhed has been allocated to Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) for drinking water needs. The PMC had demanded 2.6 TMC which the state did not consider.
Now that the Centre has sanctioned Rs.380 crore for the pipeline from Bhama Askhed reservoir, the bigger worry for the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) is the land acquisition process to lay the pipeline.
A civic official said the state government has asked the PMC to hold talks with farmers whose land would be acquired for the project.
It is unlikely to be a cakewalk as the project-affected people have not been compensated fully even though the dam’s construction began in 1992. In April, they had protested against the state irrigation department’s move to release Bhama Askhed’s water for parched Solapur villagers over 200 km away.
The Rs.118 crore Wadgaon Dhayari plant will treat 125 MLD water to meet the demands of areas on Sinhagad, Satara and Solapur roads.