After decade-long failure at Chehedi, Nashik civic body plans copper dam to tap 52 MLD water

Nashik: More than a decade after the problem surfaced, the civic body remains unable to resolve persistent water contamination at the Chehedi weir of the Darna dam, hampering its ability to regularly lift 52 million litres per day (MLD) of water for the Nashik Road division and increasing dependence on the Gangapur dam.Polluted sewage continues to flow into the Waldevi river, a tributary of the Godavari, contaminating water near the Nashik Municipal Corporation (NMC) jackwell at Chehedi. As a result, the civic body is frequently forced to suspend water lifting from the weir, disrupting supply to the Nashik Road division, while other parts of the city rely on the Gangapur and Mukane dam sources.Several proposals floated over the past 13 years to address the issue have failed to take off. In 2013, NMC planned to lay separate sewerage lines to prevent sewage from entering the Waldevi river, but the proposal did not materialise. In 2019, then mayor Satish Kulkarni had ordered the construction of a new jackwell upstream of the Chehedi weir, which also remained on paper.Last year, the civic body proposed a direct pipeline to supply water from the Darna dam to the city's water treatment plant. However, the project failed to move forward as it was not approved under the AMRUT scheme and did not receive clearance from the Kumbh Mela Authority.Taking note of the prolonged inaction, mayor Himgauri Aher has now directed the civic administration to construct a copper dam at Chehedi to prevent contaminated water from reaching the jackwell and to ensure regular lifting of 52 MLD water. She has also instructed officials to lay a separate sewage pipeline of around 100m to divert wastewater away from the Waldevi river.The issue was raised during the municipal corporation's general body meeting by senior corporator Sudhakar Badgujar, who criticised the continued failure to utilise the Chehedi water source and demanded an immediate solution, including the installation of a copper dam.Badgujar said regular lifting of 52 MLD water from Chehedi would resolve water scarcity in the Nashik Road division and significantly reduce pressure on the Gangapur dam, helping stabilise water supply across the city.Mayor Aher reiterated the need to prevent contamination near the jackwell and directed officials to expedite the proposed works.