Monsoon Effects or Rain Drain

Summer reminds us about the water scarcity but in next season that is monsoon we forget about it. The problem remains up to the water scarcity till it hits people and after getting adequate water we forgets about it and remembers it in next summer. To tackle this condition Rain water Harvesting is the simple way. Also monsoon highlights subjects like encroachments on nullah which also calms down after the monsoon. Improper rain water management drains the rain water and lack of political will drains public money. This is the way monsoon affects


Encroachment at nullah

The Pune Municipal Corporation wake on the faithful day’s night on which rain water entered in the Commissioners bungalow in Model colony and the strict action on the encroachments on nullah was the priority. But the action against the nullah was the trend for the civic body as the action taking on such construction stopped as the time passes.

There are lots of societies were built all over the cities on nullah and many nullahs are diverted for the benefits of the construction by the builders. Civic body removed few constructions on nullahs but some construction by any political party member and concern people are stand still at various places. Neither opposition party member highlighting illegal construction in nullah nor ruling party highlighted. These settlements are affecting various places and residential complexes in the city. Many areas often get flooded during monsoon and drain the dreams of common people which are being neglected because of the dreams of political peoples.

People money is also being used to build the culverts which were built just few years ago. Those culvers are not resulting well as per some corporators and they are being built with the new technology and of new shapes. This is another way citizens money is being drain from the citizens’ pocket to the politicians and contractors pockets.

Various activists have save few of such nullahs and made way for the water. The same case was observed about Ram nadi (river). But Pune Municipal couldn’t remove the whole encroachment from the river. Till the January

Originally 48-km-long, the Ram Nadi, which originates near Pashan and flows through Bavdhan and Baner, has been reduced to a length of below 20 km because of encroachments and haphazard road planning in the past two decades. Several buildings have been built right in the rivulet, the stream channel and on the banks, which results in the formation of a narrow channel, accelerating the flow of water and causing erosion and disruption downstream. Even the Pune-Mumbai highway built over the rivulet has been constructed in such a way that a third of the original width of Ram Nadi is allowed to flow under a drain, which is filled up completely with debris.



In September 2010, residents near Bavdhan and Pashan had to face Ram Nadi's fury when nearly the entire areas were submerged under water and some four people lost their lives. Due to reduction in width along with decrease in depth along the course of the rivulet, during monsoon the water fills lowland areas surrounding the river by overflowing the banks, causing destruction in these areas. Floods were caused because of drastic reduction in water carrying capacity and due to the illegal construction, where soil and debris were dumped in the river.

Rain water Harvesting

Every year crore of liter water get waste every year through storm water lines and our rooftop area, which can be saved for the next summer by Rain Water Harvesting and recharging bores by the rain water. Also lots of money is looted during summer by tanker lobby present in the city.

We waste crores of liter water as majority of people not harvesting the rain water. There are around 7000 bore wells in the city through which most of the citizens gets water in the water scarcity, but people don’t know that the water coming from the ground has to replace. Tarring, concretization, construction in city is not allowing the recharging such water sources. For recharging specific method is needed.

Considering monsoon in the city 70 thousand liters of water can be harvested per thousand square foot. According to CREDAI report there is around 1 crore square foot construction in the city till 2011 means city is wasting 70 crore liters of water every year. And we are spending lots of money to get only few percent of waste water.

Water got by monsoon either goes back to the ocean and cannot use or in rivers and considering today’s river condition it cannot be used. So major source of water remains water from the dam and ground water, according to the present situation dam water is not enough for the city and the other city is depending on ground water. If we consider 7000 bore wells in the city lakhs of liter water is being used and hardly very less water will be under the ground.

While talking about it rain water consultant Col (Retd) S G Dalvi says “water availability per capita has been on the decline in India. Increasing population and increasing water demand are the major reason behind it. As the demand increases per capita water decreases. Agriculture is the major consume of water followed by industries. These things highlighted the reason why we should not waste the natural water we are getting and to use this water we need to have rainwater harvesting.”

Rain water harvesting didn’t save the water but the cost of water as well. While explaining the case Dalvi explains the rain water harvesting project implemented at Ruby Hall Clinic “the ruby hall has 6 bore wells to fulfill the water need of 2000 staffs and OPD patients apart from 550 patients admitted the hospital was needed 15 tankers in 2007, it used to cost the hospital around 1lakh 80 thousand per month. The hospital went with the rainwater harvesting in June 2007 after couple of year the hospital don’t need any tanker. “