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By:

Rajendra Pandharpure

15 April 2025 at 7:55:54 pm

Pune’s drought could dry up business

Water rationing threatens to hit the city’s wedding industry, construction sector, retail trade and livelihoods. Pune : Pune is beginning to feel the economic sting of drought. A 10 percent cut in the city’s water supply has already been implemented, and the municipal administration has indicated that the reduction could rise to 20 percent or more over the next two to three months. What appears at first to be a water-management crisis could soon become a wider economic problem, affecting...

Pune’s drought could dry up business

Water rationing threatens to hit the city’s wedding industry, construction sector, retail trade and livelihoods. Pune : Pune is beginning to feel the economic sting of drought. A 10 percent cut in the city’s water supply has already been implemented, and the municipal administration has indicated that the reduction could rise to 20 percent or more over the next two to three months. What appears at first to be a water-management crisis could soon become a wider economic problem, affecting businesses, construction activity, employment and household budgets. The Pune Municipal Corporation has begun shutting off the water supply every Thursday. Swimming pools and vehicle-washing centres have been closed, while the use of water for construction has been prohibited. The state government has directed the civic administration to ensure that the reserves in the Khadakwasla dam chain, which supplies Pune, last until August 2027. The challenge could become more acute in the months ahead. Meteorological experts have forecast a milder winter and significantly higher temperatures this year. If these predictions hold true, increased evaporation could place further pressure on the city's water reserves, potentially necessitating stricter rationing. For residents accustomed to a relatively abundant water supply, cuts of 20 percent or more would demand a substantial adjustment in daily life. Intense Pressure The economic consequences are beginning to emerge. The closure of vehicle-washing centres has deprived young people employed in low-skilled jobs of their livelihoods. Swimming-pool closures have similarly affected security guards and lifeguards. These may appear to be small, isolated losses, but they expose a larger problem: when water-intensive businesses are forced to shut down, the burden falls disproportionately on workers with few financial reserves and limited employment alternatives. The impact could spread to Pune’s lucrative wedding industry. The wedding season traditionally gathers momentum after Tulsi Vivah in the month of Kartik, generating business worth more than Rs. 200-250 crore. Pune has long attracted affluent families from outside the city who prefer its venues and facilities for wedding celebrations, partly because of its historically reliable water supply. Persistent restrictions could undermine that advantage. Wedding venues, caterers, hotels and other service providers depend on a dependable water supply to operate. If rationing becomes more severe, organisers may reconsider their choice of venue, while businesses could face higher operating costs and disruptions. An industry that generates substantial seasonal revenue also supports a network of workers and small enterprises, making the potential economic fallout wider than the immediate loss of bookings. Rural-Urban Connection Pune’s commercial fortunes are also linked to the health of the rural economy. A good agricultural harvest typically improves rural incomes, supporting spending on goods and services in urban markets. When farm earnings weaken, that spending tends to contract, affecting traders, retailers and other businesses. If rural incomes remain subdued, the city’s commercial sector could face an additional headwind at a time when water scarcity is already threatening business activity. The interaction between agricultural distress and urban water shortages could therefore deepen the economic slowdown. Construction presents another major vulnerability. Like many large cities, Pune depends heavily on real estate and infrastructure development to sustain economic activity and employment. Construction projects generate demand across a broad network of industries, from building-material suppliers and transport operators to contractors and daily-wage workers. A prolonged restriction on construction-related water use could delay projects, raise costs and disrupt work schedules. If projects stall, the effects will extend beyond developers to workers, suppliers and businesses that depend on the real estate sector. Rising Inflation For ordinary citizens, the prospect of tighter water rationing comes amid an already difficult cost-of-living situation. Food and restaurant prices have risen sharply. A cup of tea now costs more than Rs. 30, while a serving of idli-sambar can exceed Rs. 90. Even street food, traditionally an affordable option for working people, has become increasingly expensive. These prices illustrate the pressure on household budgets, particularly those of workers whose incomes have not kept pace with rising costs. If water shortages push up operating expenses for restaurants, caterers and other businesses, consumers could face further increases. The extent of any additional price rise will depend on how severe and prolonged the restrictions become. The working class is particularly exposed. Workers in vehicle-washing centres, swimming pools, construction and allied services may lose income precisely when everyday necessities are becoming more expensive. Unlike larger businesses, many such workers have little capacity to absorb a prolonged interruption in earnings. Pune’s immediate challenge is to conserve enough water to carry the city through the coming months. Yet the implications of the drought extend well beyond household taps and civic supply schedules. Trade, real estate, hospitality and seasonal businesses all depend, directly or indirectly, on the availability of water. The two sectors facing particular uncertainty are trade and real estate. The former could suffer from weaker consumer spending and disruptions to commercial activity; the latter could be affected by restrictions on construction and the risk of project delays. The consequences would be felt across employment and the wider urban economy. Pune’s residents and businesses have not had to contend with water cuts of 20 percent or more on a sustained basis. Adapting to such restrictions will be difficult, especially if temperatures rise and the drought persists.

Grounded Ambition

Correspondent
Jan 28
2 min read

Ajit Pawar’s life in politics was a study in restless energy and permanent incompleteness. His tragic death in a private plane crash has stupefied Maharashtra, bringing an abrupt end to a career defined by constant movement and unfinished ambition.


A record six-time Deputy Chief Minister, Ajit Pawar died as he lived: in motion, rushing to Baramati to address a local rally and tethered to the routines of grassroots politics even after four decades in public life. That the 66-year-old never realised his long-cherished ambition of becoming Chief Minister lends his death a particularly cruel symmetry. In Indian politics, few figures have come so close to the summit only to remain forever just below it.


Known affectionately as ‘Dada,’ Pawar was no ornamental satrap. Punctual to a fault, brusque in manner and famously tireless, he embodied the administrator-politician hybrid that Maharashtra once specialised in producing. From sugar cooperatives to the state’s finances, Pawar was intimately cognizant with the machinery of power. Files moved quickly when they reached his desk while decisions once taken were enforced with minimal fuss by him. In an era of performative governance, Ajit retained an old-fashioned belief in execution.


Yet his strengths were inseparable from his controversies. As someone who matured under the shadow and emulated his stalwart uncle, Sharad Pawar, Ajit rose through the cooperative movement that has long blurred the boundary between public service and patronage in western Maharashtra. Allegations of financial scandals regarding irrigation projects had forced his resignation in 2012 and scarred his reputation. While he built an intensely loyal faction within the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), his mercurial persona deepened family and organisational fault lines.


Those fissures ultimately defined his career. Long seen as the natural heir to his uncle Sharad Pawar, Ajit chafed under dynastic ambiguity. The entry of Supriya Sule and later Rohit Pawar into electoral politics sharpened his sense of political confinement. His repeated rebellions - most dramatically the 80-hour government with the BJP in 2019, and the definitive split with the NCP in 2023 - were desperate bids for autonomy. By securing the party name and symbol and delivering a robust tally in the 2024 Assembly elections, Pawar finally emerged from his uncle’s shadow.


His death now leaves the NCP faction he led politically orphaned. Built around his authority, the party faces an uncertain future within the BJP-led Mahayuti. Without Pawar’s negotiating skills and electoral heft, rivals will test its cohesion and allies its utility.


His demise also places him in a grimly familiar list of Indian public figures undone by private aviation failures like Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, Madhavrao Scindia and General Bipin Rawat.


India’s political class relies heavily on chartered aircraft and helicopters, often operating under looser scrutiny than commercial aviation. Maintenance regimes, pilot fatigue and weather assessment at smaller airstrips remain unevenly regulated. Either way, Ajit Pawar’s death leaves behind a vacuum that Maharashtra’s and Indian politics will feel for some time.

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