Pune: A spell of fairly good rainfall offered a glimmer of hope for Pune’s four key reservoirs on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. The relief, however, was largely symbolic, barely making a dent in the low dam levels.Irrigation department officials said the dam catchments needed sustained and heavy rainfall over several days before any meaningful inflow into the reservoirs. As of Wednesday, the combined stock remained stuck below a worrying 4 TMC in the four dams in the Khadakwasla circle — a stark contrast to last year’s reassuring 11 TMC on the same date.The stakes couldn’t be higher. With both urban and rural areas grappling with a deepening water crisis, every drop of rain carries significance. In Pune city, residents are already enduring alternate-day water supply, forcing them to queue up around erratic timings, battling low pressure and, in some cases, dry taps.Even though the monsoon finally arrived in Pune on Monday — 12 days later than its usual June 10 onset — the civic administration remains cautious and has ruled out rolling back water cuts till dam storage was at a comfortable level. Ganesh Bidkar, leader of the house in PMC, said, “The monsoon has just begun. Water cuts are unlikely to be lifted till dam storage reaches at least 12 TMC.”Bidkar pointed to another looming concern — a predicted July lull in rainfall activity due to El Nino conditions. “All these possibilities will have to be considered before taking a call on revoking the water cuts,” he said.Panshet and Varasgaon recorded over 50mm rainfall each till Wednesday morning, while Khadakwasla received 24mm. Dark and heavy clouds hovered persistently till Wednesday evening — a visual promise of more rain. An irrigation department official said, “We have stopped releasing water into the canal for rural parts. The remaining 3.8 TMC water stock in dams has been reserved to meet drinking water requirements. Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has been told to adopt measures to reduce its daily water use. The steps should continue till the storage in all the dams reach a comfortable position.”Pune’s mayor and civic officials are expected to review the water cuts around the weekend. Meanwhile, the IMD has forecast generally cloudy skies with light to moderate rain in Pune city, with heavy to very heavy rainfall at isolated locations in the ghat areas till June 28.The collective stock in the four dams in the Khadakwasla circle stood at 3.8 TMC (13%) compared to last year’s 11.2 TMC (38%). Khadakwasla was at 0.4 TMC (22%), Panshet at 1.8 TMC (17%), Varasgaon at 1.5 TMC (12%) and Temghar nil.
