12.7.11

50 years on....









The flood in 1961 when the Panshet dam breached fifty years ago became the redefining moment for Pune. It changed the city’s geography that was till then confined to the Peth areas. It is the story of the people who lost everything, except their spirit with which they shaped their lives and the city.

Waves of water swept everything that came in its way—homes, utensils, cattle, clothes, trees and belongings floated in water that left behind knee-deep mud. On July 12, 1961, the Panshet dam, located about 40 km from Pune burst around 7.10 am. A few hours later, a huge column of water entered the city damaging thousands of homes located along the Mutha river. Around 95,000 people were affected in the city and the rural areas. The V A Naik commission was appointed by the state government to look into the reasons that caused the calamity and steps taken by the administration to tackle the situation. The report said that the Panshet dam had not burst all of a sudden. Heavy and continuous rainfall, and incomplete construction of a part of the dam wall may have triggered the wall’s collapse. The construction of the dam began in 1957 and it was to be completed in 1961. Heavy rains had been lashing the catchment area of the dam since June-end. The dam site recorded rainfall of around 12.71 inches on June 26. On June 30, it again rained 3.96 inches. On July 9, there was rainfall of 8.28 inches, while July 10 recorded 4.09 inches. According to irrigation department officials, the catchment recorded over 1,000 mm rainfall in the fortnight before the dam wall gave in. The water in the reservoir rose rapidly creating huge pressure on the newly built wall as it began flowing over it. The incomplete hoist work and increasing water pressure created cracks in the wall, the report said. Sacks of soil were placed around the cracks to stop further damage on July 10. However, the water pressure rose in the night and with no other outlet, the wall caved in. The water reached Khadakwasla’s reservoir within a few hours. Once it was filled to capacity, the sluice gates were opened to release the water. However, the Khadakwasla dam also breached, increasing the magnitude of the calamity. Attempts to channelise the flow of water into the river failed. “When all this was happening, Puneites were caught unawares and did not know what lay ahead. They were not prepared for such a calamity,” the report stated. According to irrigation experts, there was a seven-hour gap between the bursting of the Panshet and Khadakwasla dams. “The flood could have been more severe and caused more damage, if both had breached simultaneously,” the report said. It took some hours for the water to reach the city and people who had heard about Panshet left home for safer places. The flood submerged many bridges and the Peth areas on the banks of the Mutha. As per estimates, around 4,421 houses were damaged in city and another 632 in rural parts. About 88,239 people were affected in the city and 6,837 from rural areas. Chief minister Y B Chavan, who visited the flood-affected areas on July 13, appointed a commission to look into the reasons. The Panshet dam was reconstructed in 1972 and the Khadakwasla dam was repaired soon after.

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