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MUMBAI: Despite heading into an election year, over 70% of Maharashtra’s talukas are facing drought conditions, exacerbating a looming water crisis as temperatures soar and live water storage in the state’s dams drops to 41% of capacity. This marks a significant decline from the 56.5% capacity recorded last year at the same time.
The arid Marathwada region, known for its water scarcity, is particularly hard-hit, with dam water storage plummeting to 21.3% of capacity compared to 46% during the same period last year. Similarly, in the sugar belt of Western Maharashtra, dam water storage has declined to 41.5% of capacity from 69.5% last year.
In North Maharashtra, dam water levels are also alarmingly low at 41.4% of capacity compared to 57.5% last year. However, there is a silver lining in the Nagpur division, where dam water levels have significantly improved, standing at 50.7% of capacity compared to a mere 33.3% last year.
The severity of the situation is evident from the fact that 940 tankers are currently supplying water to 2,913 villages and hamlets across the state, marking a staggering increase from just 29 tankers serving 94 villages at the same time last year.
Pradeep Purandare, a retired associate professor at Aurangabad’s Water and Land Management Institute (WALMI), attributes Maharashtra’s water crisis to the lack of water management and planning. He highlights that 60% of the state’s water resources are utilized by water-intensive sugarcane crops, exacerbating the strain on irrigation water.
Purandare criticizes the state’s neglect of its 1.25 lakh minor irrigation projects, including KT Weirs and percolation tanks, emphasizing the need for maintenance rather than investing in ineffective schemes like Jalyukta Shivar. He also points out the shortcomings of the farm pond scheme, which has proliferated without addressing groundwater depletion issues downstream.
The arid Marathwada region, known for its water scarcity, is particularly hard-hit, with dam water storage plummeting to 21.3% of capacity compared to 46% during the same period last year. Similarly, in the sugar belt of Western Maharashtra, dam water storage has declined to 41.5% of capacity from 69.5% last year.
In North Maharashtra, dam water levels are also alarmingly low at 41.4% of capacity compared to 57.5% last year. However, there is a silver lining in the Nagpur division, where dam water levels have significantly improved, standing at 50.7% of capacity compared to a mere 33.3% last year.
The severity of the situation is evident from the fact that 940 tankers are currently supplying water to 2,913 villages and hamlets across the state, marking a staggering increase from just 29 tankers serving 94 villages at the same time last year.
Pradeep Purandare, a retired associate professor at Aurangabad’s Water and Land Management Institute (WALMI), attributes Maharashtra’s water crisis to the lack of water management and planning. He highlights that 60% of the state’s water resources are utilized by water-intensive sugarcane crops, exacerbating the strain on irrigation water.
Purandare criticizes the state’s neglect of its 1.25 lakh minor irrigation projects, including KT Weirs and percolation tanks, emphasizing the need for maintenance rather than investing in ineffective schemes like Jalyukta Shivar. He also points out the shortcomings of the farm pond scheme, which has proliferated without addressing groundwater depletion issues downstream.
#water #Maharashtras #dams #India #News
