Water woes in Latur may hit BJP in local polls: Party MP

BJP Member of Parliament from Latur Sunil Baliram Gaikwad today said Maharashtra Government is lukewarm to his repeated pleas to solve the problem of water scarcity in his constituency and this may cost the party dearly in the upcoming civic polls in his native district.
Gaikwad said he first raised the water scarcity issue in Lok Sabha in August 2014 after which the Centre asked the State to look into the problem but nothing has moved despite Union Ministry for Drinking Water and Sanitation writing half a dozen letters to Maharashtra Government.
The Union Ministry has been constantly sending reminders (letters) to the State Government to respond to his pleas but nothing has happened till now, he rued.

"After I raised the issue in the Lok Sabha about the grim water situation in my constituency, the Ministry has written six letters to the State government - on August 28, 2014, October 16, 2014, December 24, 2014, January 20, 2015 and November 5, 2015," he said.
The first two letters were sent when the Congress-NCP Government was in power. The current BJP-led Government headed by Devendra Fadnavis assumed power on October 31, 2014.
There was no response from the State Government to the first five letters. On the sixth letter, it merely said "the issue related to (State) Urban Development Ministry," Gaikwad said.

The Union Ministry, in its last letter (Nov 5, 2015), asked the State to apprise Gaikwad about steps being taken to address the water shortage issue in Latur.
Referring to the ensuing civic elections in his native Latur district, he said the BJP's prospects at the hustings may be affected if the Fadnavis Government did not take any concrete step in mitigating the water woes.