In Pune, supply system breaks down, Kolhapur residents face drinking water shortage

The civic chief said the floods had damaged the supply system, but repairs were being carried out on war footing and the KMC was trying to ensure that drinking water was supplied to the entire city through tankers. “From Tuesday, we will press into service at least 100 tankers and review the situation. If that falls short, we will press more tankers into service,” he said.

Kalshetty said drinking water for the city is lifted from four spots — Balinga, Nagdevwadi, Shinganapur and Kalamba. “At Kalamba, the system has been repaired and restored…. we will carry out repairs and in eight days, the entire system will be restored,” he said.

In the last few days, Kolhapur and Sangli, the worst-hit districts in the recent flood, have also experienced fuel shortage. Angry scenes and long queues were seen at petrol pumps in Kolhapur, as pumps ran out of stock.

“We have dispatched 25 tankers of petrol and diesel to flood-affected areas of Kolhapur, Satara, Sangli, Patan and Umbraj in the last two to three days. This should ease the situation,” said Amar Bagde, deputy general manager, HPCL (Loni terminal).

Ali Daruwalla, spokesperson for the All India Petrol Dealers Association, also said there will be no shortage of fuel in Kolhapur and Sangli as petroleum companies have provided adequate stock.

Sangli District Collector Abhijeet Chaudhari said from Tuesday, the administration will start distributing Rs 5,000 in cash to residents whose houses were flooded by river water. “We have an initial list ready. Accordingly, 29,000 families will get Rs 5,000 cash payment from Tuesday. The remaining amount will be given at a later stage. People living in city areas will get a total of Rs 15,000 while those in rural areas will get Rs 10,000,” he said.

“We will give financial help for other things, like houses that were damaged or collapsed entirely, and livestock deaths…,” added Chaudhari.