Water supply to breweries might be curtailed in Marathwada region

With parts of Marathwada region in Maharashtra facing water shortage due to inadequate rainfall, water supply to breweries in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district might be curtailed if necessary, an official said.

The Jayakwadi dam's Nath Sagar reservoir supplies water to residential and industrial areas of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and neighbouring Jalna district.

Twelve companies are involved in making liquor and beer in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. In the 2023-24 financial year, these companies manufactured 761.53 lakh bulk litres of liquor and 3,778.28 bulk litres of beer, an excise official said.

They generated a revenue of Rs 5,455.70 crore for the state government, which was Rs 347.14 crore more than the previous year (2022-2023) year, the official said.

Amid scarcity, 443 water tankers have been operating in the district as of April 4. As of now, 269 villages and 48 hamlets are dependent on tanker water supply, a revenue official said.

Asked about the water availability and its management, Collector Dilip Swami told reporters on Monday that making water available for drinking purpose was their priority.

"But if the water requirement of breweries in the city is more, then we can take a decision to curtail their supply," he said.

The collector was interacting with mediapersons as part of the 'Samvad Setu' programme organised for discussions over the upcoming Lok Sabha polls in the district.