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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.

Three deaths, three lifers

Quaid Najmi
Jun 29
3 min read

Landmark verdict in 60 days as pune court terms crime ‘rarest of rare’; calls ‘brutal’, ‘inhuman’ and ‘barbaric’

Mumbai: In a milestone verdict, a Pune Special Fast Track Court handed triple death and triple life sentences to a 65-year old man for the rape-cum-murder of a three-years and two-months old girl, within barely 60 days of the crime, terming the case as falling in the ‘rarest of rare’ category, on Monday.


Special Judge S. R. Salunkhe slapped the verdicts “to be hanged till death” and “life imprisonment” for each of the three main charges – rape, murder, kidnapping besides provisions of the Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, terming the acts of the convict, Bhimrao Prabhakar Kamble, as “brutal, inhuman and barbaric”.

 

“The Special Court has awarded three life-terms and three death sentences for all the main charges. This is an unprecedented and historical verdict,” an elated Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) Ajay S. Misar told ‘The Perfect Voice’ shortly after the ruling.

 

The precedent-setting ruling came before a jam-packed courtroom  where Kamble stood with his head down in the witness box, the family members of the victim’s family, along with SPP Misar, the Pune Police Investigating Officer Inspector Vijaymala Pawar, and Pune (Rural) Superintendent of Police Sandeep Singh Gill besides the family’s lawyer Vipul Dushing remaining present.

 

Diabolical Crime

The Special Judge observed that the diabolical crime – for which Kamble was convicted on June 25 - did not just shock the judicial conscience but also shook public ethics, citing similar bestial incidents in Kathua (Jammu & Kashmir, 2018) and Unnao (Uttar Pradesh, 2017) that had sparked similar public outrage – as the victim’s family members broke down in the courtroom today.

 

According to the police and prosecution, the victim girl, who was visiting her grandmother, was accosted by Kamble, later raped and murdered on the afternoon of May 1 at Nasrapur village in Bhor taluka of Pune district.

 

“The offences relate to the commission of serious crimes like murder and rape by an accused with a prior record and a substantial history of serious assault. The offence was committed outrageously and involved inhuman treatment and torture of the victim. The victim was an innocent, helpless child. The murder was committed to satisfy lust, which evidences total depravity. It was a cold-blooded murder without provocation. The crime was committed so brutally that it shocks not only the judicial conscience but even the conscience of society,” the Special Judge Salunkhe said.

 

Aggravating Factor

Justifying the capital punishments, the Special Court said the only circumstance that could be posed was the age of the accused  (65 years), and opined that it was not a mitigating but rather an aggravating factor, while relying on solid and circumstantial evidence like CCTV footage, DNA profiling, the statements of 55 witnesses, including a child, crime scene panchnama, identification parade records, articles seized during the probe, chemical analysis and other scientific reports, produced during the trial,

 

SPP Misar said six crucial CCTV footage reconstructed the sequences of events, it showed Kamble taking the victim towards the crime scene at 3.12 pm that afternoon and returning alone at 3.51 pm, establishing she was in his custody for 39 minutes. It was during that period he sexually assaulted the victim, committed an unnatural sexual act, killed her and then concealed her body to mislead the investigators.

 

Medical Reports

The prosecution team of SPP Misar and Prathamesh Shingane also relied on the medical and autopsy reports, the detailed analysis of the injuries that corroborated its reconstruction of the crime and other circumstantial evidence indicated that the crime was pre-planned by Kamble.

 

The Special Court noted that the prosecution proved both the last seen theory and the chain of evidence beyond a reasonable doubt, that Kamble was the ‘last person seen with the victim’ while she was alive, and there was no one else in her company before her death, with the entire set of circumstantial evidence unbroken and complete, pointing to his guilt.

 

Strongly seeking the capital punishment SPP Misar cited 12 Supreme Court judgements while the family’s lawyer Dughing said: “The victim was of a very tender age, 38 months old while Kamble was 65 years. The nature of the crime is extremely barbaric and committed solely to satisfy his lust.”

 

They rubbished Kamble’s statement to the court as “totally false”, demolished by the probe, scientific  DNA profiling, medical records, forensic reports and circumstantial evidence, to decisively nail him.

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