Pune: The repair work on the Temghar dam, one of the potable water lifelines of Pune, is finally underway, however, renovation of the biggest cracks may not be complete until June.
The Maharashtra government has sanctioned ₹98 crore for the repair and renovation of the dam wall. Although authorities have asserted that the basic wall structure is intact, despite the cracks.
The 87-meter high dam has a capacity of holding water up to four tmcft. It was built between 1997 and 2001, making it the newest among the city’s four major drinking lifelines — the others being Khadakwasla, Varasgaon and Panshet dams.
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The repair work was initially due to commence in December last year, but was delayed owing to the municipal, the zilla parishad (ZP) and the panchayat samiti elections.
To face delay in monsoon
According to sources in the State Irrigation Department, the work order was issued last month, with the installation of machinery and the labour in place.
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The process of final repairs is expected to stretch over a period of nearly two years. The work, however, may face further delay this monsoon.
An Irrigation Department official said, “Priority has been given to repair the points where the cracks in the wall-face are the deepest before June, in a bid to ensure that the water, which will get stored during this monsoon, does not seep out.”
The water storage has been reduced to facilitate repair work, with a plan being mooted to release the water into the Khadakwasla dam.
FIR against 34 people
Last year, in August, Maharashtra Water Resources Minister Girish Mahajan had acknowledged that the construction of the Temghar dam was indeed faulty and had directed action against the persons responsible.
Following this, the Pune Rural Police had lodged a first information report (FIR) against 34 persons for allegedly using inferior quality material during the construction of the dam.
The complaint included names of government officials, and directors and board members of two south India-based construction firms, Srinivas Construction and Progressive Construction, who were responsible for the construction of the dam.
Both the firms were blacklisted later.
City-based Right to Information (RTI) activist Vijay Kumbhar had pegged the water leakage from Temghar to be in excess of 5 crore litres, despite irrigation authorities claiming that not all seepage went waste as water flowed into the Khadakwasla reservoir.