Pune: There will be no shortage of water for the next one year in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad as two days of continuous rainfall pushed stocks in the seven dams — Khadakwasla , Panshet, Varasgaon, Temghar, Bhama Askhed, Pavana and Andra — to their full capacities on Sunday. However, on Monday, the storage was brought down marginally to accommodate inflow of rainwater. On Monday, the irrigation department reduced the water discharge from several dams, including Khadakwasla, Mulshi and Pavana, after the intensity of rain came down in catchment areas.
This provided relief to flood-affected citizens in low-lying areas and pockets along the riverbanks of the Mutha, Mula and Pavana. Khadakwasla had discharged water into the Mutha river at the rate of 45,000 cusecs on Sunday, the highest since 2019. This release was brought down in phases to 35,000 cusecs on Monday afternoon, further to 21,500 cusecs by evening, and 9,200 cusecs at night.
Irrigation department officials, however, said the release may further go down or increase depending on rainfall at upstream dams. A report by the irrigation department said rainfall at four dams in the Khadakwasla circle dropped to single digit on Monday. Khadakwasla catchment area recorded 1mm rain between 6am and 5pm, while Panshet and Varasgaon catchments received 5mm and 4mm rain respectively.
Temghar received 9mm rain. The release from Panshet and Varasgaon was brought down to 3,070 cusecs and 600 cusecs, respectively, while Temghar release.