Flood Risk in Pune Rises by 40% as River Capacity Shrinks: Activists

Pune, 2nd September 2025: Pune’s vulnerability to floods has sharply increased over the past 14 years, with experts warning that the city’s flood-carrying capacity has been eroded by at least 40 percent. Recent inundations on August 20, 2025, and July 25, 2024, forced the evacuation of several thousand residents, even though water released from dams was comparatively low.

Data from the Water Resources Department (WRD) indicates that the Mula-Mutha river’s “Blue Flood Line”—the warning level for a flow of 1,18,000 cubic feet per second (CuSecs)—is being regularly crossed at lower flows. At Bund Garden Barrage, the Blue Flood Line is set at 542.45 meters. Yet, during the July 2024 floods, flows of 69,111 CuSecs in the morning and 88,888 CuSecs by evening reached 542.60 meters and 543.40 meters, respectively. Similarly, on August 20, 2025, a flow of 71,408 CuSecs hit 542.70 meters.

Sarang Yadwadkar, an expert on urban flood management, said, “The data clearly shows that Pune’s rivers can no longer carry their designed flood capacity. Even 58 percent of the flow for which the Blue Flood Line is defined is already crossing warning levels. This is a loud alarm for the city’s safety.”

Vivek Velankar added, “Upstream dams on the Mutha River are nearly full at 99 percent. With heavy rainfall expected in September and climate models forecasting a 37.5 percent rise in annual rainfall, Pune faces extreme risk. If the local government fails to take urgent, scientific measures, residents will be left at the mercy of nature.”

Experts and citizen groups have repeatedly flagged this issue to authorities, but they say political and bureaucratic inaction has allowed the problem to worsen. Both Yadwadkar and Velankar have emphasized that reinstating the original flood-carrying capacity of rivers through scientific and firm interventions is critical to protect the city’s residents.