Maharashtra water stocks see steep drop as monsoons play truant

Nearly a week into a "dry" monsoon, Maharashtra is currently left with only nine per cent stock in its reservoirs across the state with severe water crises afflicting 12,928 big and small villages where 6,140 tankers are now providing drinking water, an official said here on Thursday.

The dry Marathwada region is the worst affected with only one per cent water stocks remaining, compared to five per cent on June 16 last year, while coastal Konkan is comfortable with 29 per cent stocks, compared to 30 per cent in 2015, an official from Chief Minister's Office revealed.

The Nagpur region has 17 per cent (18 per cent in 2015) available water stocks, Amravati 10 per cent (23 percent), Nashik 9 per cent (16 percent) and Pune 7 per cent (18 per cent).

Marathwada region's 3,983 big and small villages are being supplied drinking water for humans and cattle through 4,003 tankers daily.

Under the state Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, around 40,443 projects have been undertaken employing 690,925 labourers, with more projects on the shelf.

The recent isolated rainfall in some parts of the state has slightly improved the situation with green fodder available for cattle.

This has led to a drop in the number of fodder camps in Beed, Latur, Osmanabad and Ahmednagar districts, from the total 435 sanctioned and 398 which were actually set up, to 107 functioning till date.

Presently, in Beed, 43 fodder camps are functional, Osmanabad 23, Ahmednagar 35, Latur five and Parbhani one (total 107), providing fodder and water to over 110,750 big and small animals.

--IANS

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