Pune faces a 40% higher flood risk as the Mula-Mutha river’s carrying capacity has reduced due to silt and encroachments.
Despite lesser water discharge than the official flood warning level, the river is already reaching flood marks.
Environmentalists urge Pune Municipal Corporation and irrigation authorities to remove encroachments and restore the riverbed.
Pune, 3rd September 2025: Heavy rainfall in recent weeks has forced large water releases from dams into the Mula-Mutha river. But a recent irrigation department report shows the river’s carrying capacity has sharply reduced, leaving Pune and its suburbs facing a 40% higher risk of flooding.
Last month, intense rainfall in the city and the ghats led to the river overflowing its banks. Low-lying residential areas went underwater, forcing the Pune Municipal Corporation to shift over 1,300 people to safer locations. A similar flood hit parts of the city last year, with houses in Ektanagari inundated.
In 2011, the irrigation department set the official flood warning mark at 1.18 lakh cusecs, with the Bund Garden water level expected at 542.45 meters at that point. But recent readings show the river crossing this level with much less water discharge. For example, in July 2024, only 69,000 cusecs caused the level to touch 542.60 meters. This August too, with just over 71,000 cusecs, the level climbed to 542.70 meters.
Environmentalists say this mismatch proves that the river’s carrying capacity has declined by nearly 40% in the past 14 years. They point to unchecked silt deposits, illegal dumping, and widespread encroachments as the main reasons behind the shrinking riverbed.
Calling the situation alarming, activists Sarang Yadwadkar and Vivek Velankar have urged Pune Municipal Corporation and the irrigation department to remove encroachments and restore the river’s natural flow. They warned that unless urgent measures are taken, Pune will remain highly vulnerable to future floods.
