“A constructive meeting was held with the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) on the water scarcity issue. The funds would be diverted at the earliest for the water supply projects, including those in Uruli-Phursungi,” said Sule.
TOI in its May 9, 2022, edition had published a report highlighting the plight of the Uruli Devachi and Phursungi residents because of non-availability of tap water for drinking purposes. It also brought to the fore their troubles because of the dependence on tankers.
According to Sule, her office and the civic administration took cognizance of the TOI report for speeding up the disposal of funds for the water distribution network in Uruli Devachi and Phursungi. She wrote a letter to the PMC commissioner’s office, stating that Phursungi and Uruli were facing water scarcity.
Aniruddha Pawaskar, the head of PMC’s water supply department, said, “The funds would be given to the Maharashtra Jeevan Pradhikaran (MJP). The pending works of the water supply network would be completed by June-end. The improved water supply system would resolve water crises in these villages to a large extent.” Water is provided to Uruli Devachi and Phursungi under a scheme of MJP. The delay in the pipeline work of this project left the residents with no option but to depend on tankers for water.
Sule said the issue of water scarcity in the Baramati constituency and nearby areas was the agenda of the meeting on Wednesday. The water scheme to address the scarcity issue in Bavdhan, Sus and Mhalunge areas was sanctioned. Besides, PMC agreed to release Rs4.5 crore on urgent basis to address the water scarcity issue in Phursungi and Uruli Devachi , she said.
According to PMC and MJP, two overhead water tanks of 38 lakh litres each are ready in the Phursungi area. The other infrastructure works, like installation of electric motors and water pumping equipment, are in the last stage. The work had slowed down because of the Covid-19 restrictions. Water distribution pipeline network of about 35km has been planned in Phursungi and adjacent areas.
