Pune:The irrigation department and PMC officials on Monday temporarily plugged the Mutha canal breach near Hadapsar Industrial Estate with stones and mud, after stopping the water release into it.“Three to four days would be required to carry out complete repairs and strengthen the impacted stretch,” said Kiran Deshmukh, the executive engineer of the state irrigation department.Pune mayor Manjusha Nagpure told the civic administration to conduct an audit of the entire stretch of the canal flowing through the city with the irrigation department and table a report. “The audit should be conducted of the canal wall, its seepages and leakages, and encroachments,” she said.The breach developed in the canal around 3am when water was being released into it at the rate of 1,100 cusecs for rural areas. The water release will resume only after the repair work is completed.Deshmukh said, “The canal was constructed in 1965. There is an underpass beneath it. The bank spot might have weakened over time and gradual seepage could have led to the breach.”He said, “There was a soil embankment where the breach was reported. Prima facie the breach developed from below. Our teams are checking if any drainage or other lines near the wall resulted in its weakening.”The PMC’s water supply department said the supply to nearby areas of the canal, various pockets in Hadapsar and other parts of the city remained unaffected after the canal breach. The water supply to these areas is not dependent on the canal.Corporators demand checksCorporators from Hadapsar, Magarpatta, Ramtekdi and Manjari raised the issue of canal breach in the PMC’s general body meeting and demanded its detailed check. They also urged the mayor to fix the responsibility of the incident.Corporator Hemalata Magar said the sudden breach in the canal led to huge hardships to residents. “Soil and debris flowed into residential areas. There is a possibility of health problems,” she said.Ajit Gule, another corporator, said this was the second canal breach in the past 10 days. He said the issue should be addressed with top priority.Corporator Surekha Kawade said the water level surpassed 10 feet in some areas. Industrial areas also faced problems, Kwade said.Senior corporator Maruti Tupe said supply lines and drainage lines were laid below the canal. Tupe stressed on detailed inspection of the canal.PMC’s disaster management officer Ganesh Sonune said, “We will study the entire canal to identify vulnerable spots along its banks. The encroachment issue will also be checked.”
