Parched Maharashtra: 10,767 habitats depend upon tankers for water

Due to the meagre rainfall last monsoon, the state government has declared 66% of rural Maharashtra as drought-affected

MUMBAI: Although the weather bureau’s prediction of a good monsoon has offered some relief to the state government, it still has ample cause for worry. The water crisis in most of parts of Maharashtra has worsened, with 10,767 habitats, comprising villages and hamlets in 25 districts, dependent upon tankers for potable water. The water levels in the state’s reservoirs and dams have gone down to 22.83%, and several district administrations have begun acquiring private borewells to ensure water supply to the crisis areas.

The water crisis in most of parts of Maharashtra has worsened, with 10,767 habitats, comprising villages and hamlets in 25 districts, dependent upon tankers for potable water. (Raju Shinde/HT Photo)

As the situation becomes grimmer, 56 villages and 67 hamlets have been added to last week’s list of areas supplied with water through tankers. The number of tankers has increased by 21.

Due to the meagre rainfall last monsoon and the subsequent water shortage, the state government has declared 66% of rural Maharashtra as drought-affected. The administration has been running 3,713 tankers to supply water to thousands of villages and hamlets. Last year, during the same period, only 305 tankers were running across the state.

According to the water supply department’s report released on Monday, the 3,713 tankers, comprising 3,616 private and 96 government tankers, have been deployed to supply water to 3,029 villages and 7,738 hamlets. Marathwada region, which includes Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, Jalna, Beed, Parbhani, Hingoli, Nanded, Latur and Dharashiv, has the highest number of tankers, with 1,866 tankers supplying water to 1,273 villages and 507 hamlets, followed by Nashik division with 823 tankers supplying water to 772 villages and 2,580 hamlets. Nagpur division has deployed only seven tankers to supply water to 11 villages. In the Konkan region, 167 tankers are supplying water to 251 villages and 818 hamlets.

Maharashtra has around 2,994 small, medium and major dams across the state with a total live storage capacity of 40,485 million cubic metres (mcum). According to the daily water availability report released by the water resources department, as of May 28, live storage has reduced to 9,242.28 mcum, which is 22.83% of capacity. Last year, during this period, the water availability was 32.26%. Water availability in Marathwada region is the lowest at 9.10% compared to 36.48% this time last year.