Pune: The Panshet dam edged closer to full capacity on Monday evening, reaching 95% storage, prompting releases through its power house. Officials indicated that water from Panshet was likely to be routed into the Khadakwasla dam by Tuesday, further strengthening the city’s water security.The Ujani dam, the lifeline of the Bhima basin, has also surged to 97% of its capacity, in a sharp turnaround from just a month ago, forcing irrigation officials to release water into the Bhima river to make room for the inflows from upstream dams in Pune district.The reservoir, which serves Solapur, Pune and Ahilyanagar districts, received over 60 TMC of inflow over the past four weeks, reviving a dam that had slipped to dead storage levels.As the storage surged past the critical mark on Monday afternoon, authorities opened the gates and began releasing water at 5,000 cusec. By late evening, with inflows continuing unabated, the discharge was doubled to 10,000 cusec.Officials from the irrigation department said the swelling reservoir had brought immense relief to farmers, particularly in Solapur district, where vast stretches of sugar cane cultivation relied heavily on water from Ujani.The monsoon’s impact was visible across Pune district as well, where 13 dams released water on Monday, following persistent rainfall in their catchment areas. Among the major releases, Mulshi and Veer dams discharged more than 10,000 cusec each, underscoring the massive volume of water coursing through the basin.Collective storage in the dams supplying water to Pune city climbed above 90%, touching 26.2 TMC by Monday evening.While rainfall eased somewhat by Monday evening, the reservoirs continued to benefit from earlier heavy spells. Catchment areas of Pune’s five major dams recorded less than 25mm of rainfall each between morning and evening, suggesting a temporary pause in the intense monsoon activity.The gains have reduced immediate concerns over water cuts, and an IMD forecast of continued rainfall could lift stocks further. While the trend gives PMC more flexibility in planning supply after a dry June, experts warned that sustained rain through Aug and Sept would be necessary to meet seasonal storage targets.
