Pune: Imagine opening a tap in your kitchen to fill a bottle and spotting scores of wriggling little red worms appear in the murky, smelly water. This appalling reality has become a daily occurrence for close to 7,000 households in Mhalunge, who depend entirely on the highly polluted Mula river as their only source of water. Many say they have been finding it to be increasingly toxic and unusable in recent times.The alarming deterioration of the river and blanket of hyacinth choking it have raised stagnation levels significantly over the last several months. This has contributed to the spawning of red bloodworms to such an extent that they are now emerging in the taps. Residents of the VTP Leonara society in Mhalunge, an upscale 1,268-flat residential project close to the Hinjewadi IT hub, are among those worst affected. Forced to use water of compromised quality for both drinking and other purposes, the residents said they are facing serious and chronic health concerns, ranging from itchy skin and hair loss to frequently falling sick. They now have a clear and urgent demand — clean water. Resource compromised “This is an out-and-out sanitation issue. There is more sewage and less river water flowing in the Mula at present. A lot of it has to do with the rapid urbanisation of this area in a span of just a few years,” said Ravi Rokade, who has lived in the society for the last three years. The IT professional elaborated, “There are more townships being built here and the labour camps attached to these projects do not follow rules for waste disposal. All of it goes straight into the river. When we bought houses here, we were told this area would be a part of Pune’s Smart City initiative and we would have top-notch facilities. Clean water is the most basic and important of such amenities. And yet, we continue to suffer.” Township residents claimed these red bloodworms have been present in their water on and off for almost two years, but the volume has risen notably in the last year or so. They highlighted that the growth of these worms can be reduced as a result of proper circulation of oxygen in a waterbody. Red bloodworms belong to the Chironomidae family and are more commonly known as bloodworms in their larval stage, later growing into non-biting midges. They are commonly used as fish feed. These larvae can typically be found in stagnant water that is high in the presence of organic matter. “The water in our taps has an odour and is brackish, too. Each time we complain, the issue is resolved for a bit and then recurs. The river is extremely polluted. One can see large amounts of hyacinth gathered on top of it. This has made the river stagnant and a breeding ground for mosquitoes and other larvae,” said Surabh Joshi, another society resident. “We want an audit of all sewage treatment plants (STPs) near the river and timely and frequent removal of hyacinth. We also want the authorities to look into why we are receiving such poor quality water and hold those responsible accountable for putting our lives at risk,” Joshi added. Less river, more sewageComplaints made over the last few months about the bloodworm issue to the builder and Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority (PMRDA) have yielded no results, residents said. They pointed out that the insects are present in their water supply despite multiple layers of filtration. Society chairman Ashish Bapat told TOI, “The complex has a jackwell from which water is pumped into a water treatment plant (WTP) managed by the builder and undergoes several stages of clearing, largely for heavy metals and to reduce its hardness. After this, it is sent to another WTP in our society, managed by residents, where it goes through another set of processes to further be filtered for utility use. This filtered water is then once more sent through reverse osmosis (RO) for drinking water. The red bloodworms are circumventing all of this.”“The condition of the water is so bad that where a WTP filter should suffice for five to seven years, we have had to change the entire machinery in three years. A massive cleanliness drive of the river is crucial now,” he added. This is not the first time the presence of bloodworms has been a cause for concern in a township that lifts water from the Mula river. In Feb 2024, the Blue Ridge Township in Hinjewadi faced a similar issue. Residents there had also highlighted that their filtration system was being put under severe stress because of the level of river pollution. Lack of accountabilityAdvocate Shrikant Dalvi, another resident of the society, said that their area’s administration is mired in bureaucratic red tape, leaving inhabitants suffering. He explained,“This area falls under PMRDA’s Mhalunge-Maan township planning (TP) scheme. Since the scheme is still awaiting a govt nod, the only repairs or fixes that can be done are temporary. While we were merged with Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) in 2021, the handover is not complete yet and so, no authority is willing to take responsibility for our problems. It is a systemic failure at this point.” The society took the help of local representatives to reach out to then-PMRDA commissioner Yogesh Mhase in Jan this year to tell him about the issue. “Who will be responsible if this water situation results in loss of life or severe illness? Whenever we approach some authority, there is only a temporary solution. There is just no will to do anything to rectify the situation on a permanent basis,” said IT professional and society resident Nitin Shinde. “With summer approaching, the situation might get worse. On some days, we have to wait for the worms to settle down, so that we can use the water on top. Are we waiting for another Indore-like disaster to cause havoc in Pune,” Shinde asked, referring to an incident in Jan 2026 when contaminated drinking water supplied through govt-laid pipelines resulted in a deadly outbreak in Madhya Pradesh. Following the Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) outbreak in Pune last year, new cases have now been detected in Nira village in Purandar, Pushkar Kulkarni, who has filed a petition in the National Green Tribunal regarding groundwater contamination told TOI. “As a petitioner in the ongoing case I maintain that the discharge of untreated sewage and industrial effluents into our waterbodies is the direct cause of this rising disease burden. The presence of high E. coli levels in our water sources indicates a systemic failure in how we manage out waste. I am demanding immediate accountability and corrective action from the PMC, MPCB and the district disaster management authority authorities to prevent further spread,” Kulkarni added. Operational gaps seen at society-level WTP, says developerThe society was formally constituted in May 2025, following which all day-to-day operations and maintenance have been managed by the society committee. The concern regarding bad water was brought to the notice of the township management approximately three weeks ago, through which we, as the developer, also became aware of the issue.Following the complaint, the township management inspected the township-level Water Treatment Plant (WTP) and confirmed that the water supplied from the central system was functioning as per the prescribed process. Further inspections were conducted at the society-level WTP in coordination with the society committee.During these inspections, certain operational gaps were observed in the society-level WTP operations. These included instances such as dosing pumps being switched off or not functioning properly, the UV system not operating, improper dilution of treatment consumables, and irregularities in the dosing process. Such lapses in the prescribed cleaning and treatment procedures can impact the quality of treated water if not maintained as per the defined norms.As a constant support system, VTP Realty has been conducting supportive audits every 2–3 days along with the society committee and has shared detailed recommendations to improve the operation and maintenance of the WTP. The society committee has already initiated corrective steps, and the situation has shown improvement.As an additional step, the township management is undertaking further enhancements to the township-level Water Treatment Plant infrastructure as part of its ongoing infrastructure improvement initiatives across the township. This initiative is aimed at ensuring that such incidents do not occur in the future and is expected to be completed within the next couple of months.VTP Realty remains committed to supporting the societies that have been handed over. Our teams continue to assist and guide the society committee on the correct cleaning processes and operational standards required for effective WTP maintenance, ensuring better water quality for residents. — Statement from a spokesperson of VTP RealtyOfficial-speakI am aware of the issue and have visited the Mhalunge society after receiving a complaint in Jan. We sent a notice to the builder after inspection and told them to fix the issue. They were also told to then conduct water tests and send us the reports, which they did. The reports were clear. However, if the issue persists, I will ask officials to visit once again and check. We will look into resolving the issue at the earliest— Shweta Patil | Assistant director of town planning, PMRDA
