Pune: Khadakwasla cluster water storage nearing 100 per cent

Pune: The cumulative water storage in the four dams – Khadakwasla, Panshet, Varasgaon and Temghar – has now crossed the 96 per cent mark. With rains subsiding in the catchment areas of this cluster of dams, the water resources department has decided to stop discharging water into the Mutha river. The excess water will be released through the spillway for next few days.

The catchment areas of Temghar dam received 25 mm of rain, Varasgaon 8 mm and Panshet 7 mm of rain till 8 pm on Saturday (August 22). The total water storage till Saturday evening in the four dams is 28.02 TMC which is 96.12 per cent of its total capacity. Last year, the water storage was 29.02 TMC (99.54 per cent) for the corresponding period.

Due to incessant rainfall in the catchment areas of the dams last week, the water being discharged into Mutha river was about 16247 cusecs till Friday (August 21) evening. That was reduced to about 5000 cusecs on Saturday evening and on Sunday morning it was stopped. Vijay Patil, Executive Engineer of Irrigation Department informed that the discharge from Khadakwasla Dam has been reduced to only 500 cusecs through the spillway.

The decision to stop water discharge in Mutha river basin may be influenced by the fact that during Ganeshotsav citizens approach the river banks for immersion of Ganesh idols on the second, fifth, seventh and tenth day of the festival.

In the wake of Covid-19 crisis situation, immersion of Ganesh idols has been banned at public places like immersion ghats along the Mutha river bank. However, certain political parties and social organisations have opposed this move of the Pune Municipal Corporation and insisted on immersion of idols in the river itself.

WATER STORAGE IN KHADAKWASLA CLUSTER