Pune: The last time residents of Ektanagari were alerted of serious flooding was in 2024, when Khadakwasla dam released water at 35,000 cusec, overnight.This year, it took discharge at just 27,000 cusec to inundate the area’s homes and parking lots. On Wednesday, nearly 20 residents were evacuated. Homeowners here have been put on alert. If rains continue, the dam will release more water, creating more problems for one of Pune’s most flood-prone neighbourhoods.Residents who were evacuated on Wednesday said they were shocked by how quickly floodwaters had entered their homes this year.“Couple of years ago, water would enter our parking lots when the discharge rate was 35,000 cusec. Now these spaces go under after just 25-27,000 cusec. We live in constant fear of losing our things,” said Mayur Ingawale, one of the affected.Area activists said illegal dumping of debris into the Mutha had reduced the river’s carrying capacity.“What we’re seeing today is the collective impact of sand mining near Khadakwasla dam, debris dumping along the Mutha and the mushrooming of encroachments,” said Shailja Deshpande of Jeevitnadi, a citizen group working to restore Pune’s rivers. “It’s due to all these problems that we now see flash flooding in the area,” she added.In July 2024, more than 100 people were evacuated after discharge levels from the dam hit 35,574 cusec. The Army had to be called in for relief measures. Residents have called for a more permanent fix to the flooding problem. “Redevelopment of housing societies here solve the flooding problem,” said resident Asmita Pise-Adsule. “Authorities should complete process as soon as possible.”Mayor Manjusha Nagpure, who was elected from the Sinhagad Road areas, said safety of residents was the administration’s top priority.
Flooded road in Ektanagari on July 8. Photo by Shyam Sonar
“PMC has prepared manpower and the machinery to deal with the problem. Residents are being urged to stay alert,” she said. More than 100 homes in Ektanagari are metres from Mutha’s banks off Sinhagad Road, and well within the ‘blue line’, which marks land that’s at risk of serious floods every 25 years.The housing societies worst hit by seasonal flooding include Dwarka, Jalpoojan, Sharada Sarover and Sham Sundar. Other societies, including Sadguru Society in Warje and Saritanagari off Sinhagad Road, also experience severe waterlogging. Civic officials said steps such as the construction of a retaining wall near the riverbanks were taken to avert flooding in these areas. The wall has proven to be effective, officials said, but faster flooding in the area, largely due to the river’s reduced capacity, has become a major worry, especially after heavy rainfall.In 2024, a four-member committee of PMC officials was formed to determine what had caused the severe inundation that year. That committee in its report stated that encroachments along the riverbanks was one of the key reasons for flash floods in the area.It had even suggested solutions, including the display of flood lines in Pune’s development plans, identification of structures within those flood lines, the immediate removal of all debris from the river bed and, importantly, a total ban on all construction — residential and commercial — within the flood lines. Then chief minister Eknath Shinde, after the 2024 crisis, had even visited Ektanagari, promising residents relief. The civic body responded by unveiling an ambitious resettlement plan, of 1,383 residential units and over 60 businesses, from the flood-prone zones in and around Ektanagari.However, there has been no major headway with the committee’s proposals. “This year, we are again outside our homes, waiting for the rain to stop. No one should live like this,” said one resident.
