Pune’s Flood Danger Grows; River Carrying Capacity Down by 40%, Warn Activists
Pune, 4th September 2025: The Mula-Mutha river, once considered capable of safely carrying over a lakh cusec of water, is now struggling to manage much lower discharges, raising Pune’s flood risk by nearly 40%, according to activists citing government data.
The warning comes after back-to-back spells of heavy rainfall forced authorities to release large volumes of water from upstream dams. Instead of flowing smoothly, the river quickly crossed danger levels, triggering fears of urban flooding across the city.
In 2011, the Water Resources Department had fixed the flood warning level at 1.18 lakh cusecs, corresponding to a Bund Garden water level of 542.45 meters. At that time, the river was believed to safely carry this discharge without overflowing.
But recent data tells a different story:
-On July 25, 2024, a discharge of just 69,111 cusecs raised the water to 542.60 meters.
-On August 20, 2025, a discharge of 71,408 cusecs pushed levels to 542.70 meters, higher than the official danger mark.
“This shows that with barely half the earlier designated discharge, Pune is already facing flood-like situations. The carrying capacity has reduced drastically due to silt deposits, encroachments, waste dumping, and obstructions in the riverbed,” said activists Sarang Yadavadkar, Vivek Velankar, and Pushkar Kulkarni.
Last month’s downpour had already forced the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) to shift over 1,300 citizens to safety as riverside homes went underwater. Similar scenes were witnessed in Etanagari last year, when several houses were submerged.
Activists argue that the city is now paying the price for years of neglect. “The danger of floods has increased significantly, and urgent preventive steps like desilting, clearing encroachments, and restoring riverbanks cannot be delayed any longer,” Yadavadkar and Velankar said.
