Heavy Rains Trigger Increased Dam Discharge in Pune

Pune: Thousands of residents in Pune were forced to evacuate as heavy rains inundated various parts of the city last week. Following a brief three-day respite, heavy rainfall resumed on Monday night, raising concerns among those living along riverbanks as the Khadakwasla dam began releasing water. The water storage in the four dams of the Khadakwasla Dam project has now reached 25.78 TMC, or 88% of their capacity.

Last Wednesday and Thursday, 35,000 cusecs of water were released from Khadakwasla Dam due to continuous heavy rains. This resulted in significant water ingress into communities along the Mutha River, necessitating the temporary relocation of around 4,500 residents. The discharge from Khadakwasla Dam was reduced on Sunday as the rainfall subsided, but increased again to 25,036 cusecs on Monday due to renewed heavy rains.

As the rainfall continued, the discharge rate fluctuated. On Tuesday, the rate was reduced overnight as the rain lessened, but it surged again due to heavy rains the following day. On Wednesday morning, the discharge rate from the Khadakwasla Dam spillway into the Mutha River basin increased from 9,416 cusecs to 11,407 cusecs at 7 a.m. By 9 a.m., it had further increased to 13,981 cusecs, and by 11 a.m., it had reached 16,247 cusecs. The four dams—Khadakwasla, Temghar, Varasgaon, and Panshet—are now discharging water every 2 to 3 hours as they near full capacity.

Currently, the Khadakwasla project holds 25.28 TMC of water, or 88.44% of its total storage capacity. On the same date last year, the water storage stood at 22.20 TMC (76.61%). This year, there is a surplus of approximately 3 TMC compared to the previous year.

Dam Storage Details:

Khadakwasla: 1.61 TMC (81.43%).
Temghar: 3.28 TMC (88.48%).
Varasgaon: 11.12 TMC (86.75%).
Panshet: 9.77 TMC (91.76%).

Total: 25.28 TMC (88.44%).