As Pune city braces for alternate-day water supply from June 15 due to critically low storage in the Khadakwasla dam chain, residents in several rural pockets and peri-urban areas of the district say they have been living with a far more severe reality for years, walking for hours, depending on tankers and rationing every litre of water despite living in some of the highest rainfall zones. Across villages in Ambegaon, Junnar, Bhor, Mulshi, and Purandar, among others, residents say the annual water crisis has deepened even as the region receives abundant monsoon rainfall and hosts reservoirs that supply water to urban and industrial centres across Pune district. For many families in the tribal hamlets of Bhimashankar temple area in Ambegaon taluka, fetching water has become a daily struggle. “Our area is largely tribal and women from remote hamlets have to walk across steep, rocky hillsides in search of water. They return carrying pots on their heads through difficult terrain. It has become a routine for survival because wells have dried up and hand pumps no …