Pune: Vimannagar Faces Severe Water Shortage, Residents Forced to Rely on Expensive Tankers

Vimannagar, 8th May 2025: A worsening water crisis has gripped Vimannagar, where residents are struggling to cope with erratic and insufficient water supply from the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC). The situation has pushed several housing societies to rely almost entirely on private water tankers, escalating both household expenses and frustration.

Over the past few weeks, residents have observed a drastic drop in both the duration and pressure of water supplied by PMC.
“We used to get water for around three hours daily at decent pressure. Now it barely lasts for an hour, and the pressure is so low that filling overhead tanks has become a challenge,” said the chairman of a large housing society. “We’ve had to increase our maintenance charges by ₹2,500 per flat just to cover the cost of hiring nearly 10 tankers a day.”

Apart from insufficient supply, residents are also raising concerns about the quality of PMC water. “It often smells bad and appears yellowish. On top of that, there’s no explanation from the authorities,” said another resident, who added that the community has turned to borewell water and tankers, though even those sources are proving unreliable.

The secretary of another society pointed out the limitations of private tankers. “Even the tanker operators are struggling to meet demand. We need at least seven tankers every day for basic needs. For drinking water, we solely depend on PMC, and even that is barely enough. When we run out, we just have to wait for the next day’s supply.”

He further mentioned that the cost of utility water through tankers has gone up significantly. “Last year, we paid ₹800 per tanker. Now it’s ₹1,000.”
One housing society issued a notice urging residents to conserve water, highlighting the worsening crisis: “PMC supply has dropped below 90 minutes, and even tanker deliveries are delayed due to falling borewell levels. Despite arranging 12 utility tankers and one drinking water tanker daily, supply often doesn’t arrive on time. Hence, water distribution is now limited to 8.30 am–10 am and after 5 pm. Requests outside these hours cannot be entertained. Drinking water, being three times costlier, must be used sparingly.”

Even smaller societies are feeling the heat. “We’re a relatively small group, but we still need five tankers every day to get by,” said a resident.
A senior PMC official admitted there are challenges in maintaining consistent supply. “The main tank is receiving less water than expected, even though the flow from the Bhama Askhed dam is stable. For reasons still under investigation, supply gets interrupted between 9 am and 12 pm. This forces us to adjust the supply schedule repeatedly,” the official said, adding that teams are currently inspecting valves and reservoirs to identify the root cause of the disruption.
As temperatures continue to rise and tanker costs soar, residents fear the situation could worsen if corrective measures are not taken swiftly.