'Absence of rainwater harvesting, accumulation of silt in

Accumulation of silt in reservoir supplying drinking water and absence of rainwater storing facilities in Latur district of Maharashtra are among the key reasons for the water crisis in the region, Union Minister Uma Bharti said today.
Talking about the report of the fact-finding committee of Central Water Commission (CWC) which visited the water-starved district earlier this month, Bharti made a strong pitch for creation of new and repairing existing small water bodies by states for tackling drought in the times to come.
"The Manjra dam, which mainly supplies drinking water to Latur, has seen accumulated silt for several years. The silt has affected storage capacity of the reservoir by 25 per cent.

"Secondly, the district receives less rainfall. No efforts were made to facilitate storage of rainwater. These are the reasons behind the water crisis there," Bharti said about the observations made in the CWC report.
The Minister told PTI that states like Telangana, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Maharashtra, which are reeling under drought, can focus on small water bodies and opt for storage facilities including rainwater harvesting to combat a crisis situation.
Stressing that states cannot deal with drought situation "suddenly", Bharti said they will always have to prepare themselves for tackling such situations and recommended working on irrigation projects as part of the long-run efforts.

Bharti suggested that the water-starved areas of Marathwada (including Latur) and Vidrabha regions in Maharashtra can follow the "successful" water management model of Hiware Bazar from the state.

Located in Maharashtra's Ahmednagar, Hiware Bazar is known for its irrigation system and water conservation programme that helped it transform into a water-sufficient village from a water-deficit one.
"The water management experiment of Hiware Bazar will be successful in rain-starved areas of Marathwada and Vidarbha. We will suggest the state government to work on smaller water bodies, which can be built in seven-eight months as part of preparations for next year," she said.

The Union Minister said that as part of the long-run preparations, states need to take care of their existing water bodies and forestation, besides focusing on irrigation projects.
"We are working on projects under Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sichai Yojana (PMKYS), out of which 23 will be completed by 2017. Among these, 15 will be implemented in Maharashtra," she added.