The private tankers are now taking water from select refilling stations. The municipal commissioner said he was yet to look into the demands of the private water tankers.

Earlier, the city unit of the MNS staged a protest at Parvati Water Works, alleging that the civic administration was supplying water to hotels and builders instead of common people. “The civic administration should stop the illegal business by private water tankers or we will intensify our protest,” MNS leader Ravindra Khedekar said.

Pmc to railway: No washing of rail coaches, save water

In the wake of an acute water scarcity leading to a 40 per cent cut, the Pune division of the Central Railways has been asked by the Pune Municipal Corporation to stop washing the coaches in order to save water. The railway authorities, in turn, have promptly begun following the order.

Railway officials said they had stopped washing the coaches and they were hiring water tankers and using their own bore wells to quench the thirst of passengers.

As rains gave Pune a miss in June — a condition that more or less persists even now, the Irrigation Department and the PMC had first imposed a 20 per cent water cut in the city and then increased it to 40 per cent.

Asked about how the railway administration is coping with the situation, M G Dhamangaonkar, additional divisional railway manager (ADRM) said, “It is true that like citizens, railways is also finding it tough to manage things with the cut water supply. We are hiring water tankers to procure additional water. We also have our own bore wells.

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