By Prachi Mishra
For several years, residents of Ajmera Park, Green Park, Royal Park, and Ashraf Nagar in Kondhwa have been grappling with an acute water supply issue. Locals allege that not only is the water reaching their homes supplied at extremely low pressure, but it is also mixed with drainage water, creating a serious health hazard for families particularly for children, women, and senior citizens.
Highlighting the matter, Maharashtra Navnirman Sena’s (MNS) Pune City President Sainath Sambhaji Babar came down heavily on the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) for failing to resolve the problem despite repeated complaints and follow-ups from affected societies. He said the civic body’s negligence has forced citizens to suffer without one of life’s most essential requirements.
Babar remarked that while PMC ensures strict compliance when it comes to collecting property tax and other charges, it has been indifferent to ensuring adequate and safe water supply. “This is sheer injustice. Access to clean drinking water is a fundamental right, and it is disgraceful that in 2025, citizens of a city like Pune are still compelled to live with contaminated and insufficient water,” he said.
The MNS leader has put forth several demands before the administration. These include immediate inspection and repair of damaged supply pipelines, a permanent fix to the issue of drainage water mixing with drinking water, and provision of water at sufficient pressure to meet residents’ needs. He also called on PMC to announce a clear timeline for carrying out the remedial work and to keep residents regularly updated on the progress.
Warning of consequences if the civic body continues to ignore the issue, Babar stated that MNS, along with local residents, would be forced to launch an agitation. “If people’s patience runs out and law-and-order problems arise, the responsibility will lie with the PMC and not the citizens,” he cautioned.
Calling for accountability, he further added, “When the civic administration can act swiftly and strictly in tax collection, the same urgency must be displayed in addressing basic civic amenities like drinking water. People will no longer tolerate this step-motherly treatment.”
The issue was making rounds in the year 2023 and 2024 as well but nothing solid came out of it and now with growing frustration among residents, the pressure is now on PMC to take immediate action and restore faith by resolving Kondhwa’s long-standing water woes.