SPPU, Karve Institute of Social Service rejuvenates Hatti Haud for rain water accumulation

The project began in 2019 but faced hurdles due to the Covid-19 pandemic with the original target year of 2021 pushed to this year. According to SPPU officials, the revitalised pond will be ready by the end of May to accumulate rainwater from June onwards.

SPPU, Karve Institute of Social Service rejuvenates Hatti Haud for rain water accumulation

The Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) in collaboration with the Karve Institute of Social Service has successfully rebuilt the defunct Hatti Haud (pond) for rainwater collection as part of a revival mission. The project began in 2019 but faced hurdles due to the Covid-19 pandemic with the original target year of 2021 pushed to this year. According to SPPU officials, the revitalised pond will be ready by the end of May to accumulate rainwater from June onwards.

Hatti Haud, located behind the center for modeling and simulation department of SPPU, was constructed by Mahatma Jyotiba Phule during the British era as part of building a ‘bund’, as per old records. The reservoir was used by British officers for their elephants and horses. However, before 2019, the 30-metre-long historic pond was filled with construction debris and waste.

“I realized that there is no proper rainwater management system in the city. I conceptualized and designed the project to rejuvenate the pond and sent a proposal to the university,” said Dr (professor) Mahesh Thakur, director of the corporate social responsibility cell at the Karve institute.

“We were reluctant about the proposal. We never believed something like this could happen. Our vice-chancellor’s enthusiasm gave us the push to accept it,” said Dr Prafulla Pawar, registrar, SPPU.
The environmental sustainability project of the SPPU is in collaboration with the Karve institute and was inaugurated by SPPU vice-chancellor Nitin Karmalkar in April 2019. The design for the land was finalised after a thorough scientific survey. “All the materials used for construction were environment-friendly. Replacing cement, only stones were used,” said Pawar.

The funding for the entire project was facilitated by Cummins India Foundation through their community care initiative. The department of environmental science and estate department of Pune university assisted the Karve institute with handling the project.

“Earlier, the pond could hold only two lakh litre of water. Today, our system has increased its capacity to approximately 87 lakh liter of rainwater,” said Thakur. Additionally, to store the spilling of water from the elephant pond, another smaller replica with a capacity of 22 lakh is being constructed.

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