Pune: The repair work of Temghar dam will be done by May 2020, said Superintendent Engineer Pravin Kolhe at a press conference held in the city on Tuesday.
Temghar is one of the four dams that supplies drinking water to Pune city. However, leakage was seen in Temghar dam since 2010 when the dam was completed. Temghar Dam Expert Committee under the chairmanship of VM Ranade was formed on August 27, 2014 to study the problem of seepage from the dam and to recommend remedial measures to minimise it and ensure the safety of the dam.
However, the repair work was started in April 2017.
After the massive leak of 2,587 LPS in 2016, the State government took a serious note of the water leakage and started criminal proceedings against the 28 engineers and three construction companies that had the contract of constructing the dam. Currently, the entire matter is in the jurisdiction of the court.
The remedial measures like cement grouting and shortcrete technology have been used for the repair work. As per the Water Resource Development officials, 70 per cent of the total work is done and 90 per cent of leakage has been stopped.
Kolhe said, “The total requirement to complete the repair work is around Rs 125 crore out of which Rs 52 crore has been released by the State Government. However, it will take another year to complete the work, as the work will resume after monsoon.”
He said, “We have filed a petition in the commercial court, Pune and Bombay High Court that the cost incurred in repairing will be recovered from the contractors who constructed the dam.”
“This time 100 per cent of water stock will be stored in Temghar dam during monsoon and water will be supplied to the city. However, we will empty the dam by December to resume the work,” added Kolhe.
