Heavy rains battered Pune on Wednesday and Thursday, flooding low-lying areas and leading to evacuations by National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams. Ekta Nagar near Sinhgad Road was one of the most severely affected localities. Residents and shop owners in this area are now demanding compensation for their losses after water inundated their homes and shops.
Kapil Ukani, who runs a medical store, said, “Our products were completely submerged. We had not been informed about the water release by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) or the irrigation department. Officials and ministers visited the spot and assured us they were providing food, but what about the loss due to the flooding? Our material, worth ₹70-80 lakh, including furniture, has been damaged. Will the government compensate us?”
Somnath Giri, who owns a studio in the locality, shared, “Our shops were completely flooded. All our furniture and electronic appliances (computers, printers, plotters, etc.) are ruined. The administration did wrong by not alerting us in advance. We could have at least saved some of our materials if we had been warned. PMC conducted the panchnama, but the question remains: will we receive compensation equivalent to the assessed loss, or will the government provide a fixed amount? Our total loss is around ₹35 lakh. How will we manage and restart if the government offers only ₹10,000-20,000?”
Another shopkeeper Harshwardhan Sanjay Shinde said, “The damage is irrecoverable; our business is ruined. Warnings were issued too late. If we had been alerted earlier, we might have been able to save something.”
Pune MP and Union Minister Murlidhar Mohol on Friday claimed that there was a "communication gap" regarding the water discharge. “If there was a red alert for the catchment areas and water was to be released in such large quantities, the civic body and police department should have been informed. Such communication gaps should be avoided in the future, and the concerned departments have been instructed accordingly,” Mohol said.
Meanwhile, Dhanajay Benkar, AAP leader, stated that most affected areas, like Ekta Nagar, are struggling to recover from their losses. "Local authorities have yet to respond to the claims. Approximately 300 families have been affected. Our party workers will meet the PMC Commissioner to seek assurance of appropriate compensation for the shop owners and residents. We will also meet the Pune Collector and submit a letter to address the residents' demands," he added.
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