Water Crisis Looms Over Maharashtra: Dams Left with Only 40% Storage Capacity

Pune: The state is facing a water crisis as the summers approach. The state's dams have barely 40 percent of water stock left this year which was around 56 percent last year. The demand for tankers has increased across the state due to the depletion of water stock. 

On March 20 last year, 29 tankers were supplying water to 21 villages and 73 hamlets in the state. Around 940 tankers are supplying water to 3,000 villages this year. Even as the administrative machinery is busy with the Lok Sabha elections, the water crisis in the state seems to be worsening.

There has been little increase in the storage of dams in the state this year due to low rainfall. Meanwhile, rivers have dried up due to lack of rain and rising temperatures are also depleting the reservoirs. At present, only 40 percent of the water stock is left in 2,994 dams, big and small, across the state. The stock was 55.85 percent on the same day last year. The worst-case scenario is in Marathwada, where only 20 percent of the water stock is left in its dams. In March last year, 46 percent of the water stock was left. The dams in the Pune division have also started receding and only 42.12 percent water stock is left this time as compared to 70 percent last time.

Despite having a large number of dams in the Nashik division, only 40.38 percent of water stock is left. In comparison, dams in Nagpur, Amravati, and Konkan still have half the water storage. The demand for tankers is increasing in rural areas. As of last week, 940 tankers were supplying water to 860 villages and 2,054 hamlets. Of these, 381 tankers are supplying water to 300 villages and hamlets in Marathwada division, followed by 271 tankers in 900 villages and hamlets in Nashik division.

In the Pune division, 310 tankers were supplying water to 265 villages and 1,587 hamlets on March 25. The highest number of 143 tankers are in Satara district, where 132 villages and 540 hamlets are being supplied water. In Pune district, 34 villages and 314 hamlets are being supplied water through 64 tankers.