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The water crisis in the Marathwada region of Maharashtra has worsened, with rapidly depleting water levels in dams. As per the data published by the State Water Resources Department on Friday, dams in this parched region are left with just 5.41 per cent live water storage compared to 31.34 per cent live storage on the same day last year. Overall, 3,267 dams in Maharashtra have 21.81 per cent live storage (34.51 per cent storage on the same day last year).
Marathwada has 45 major dams, which have just 2.77 per cent live water storage. Big dams at Paithan, Manjara, Lower Terna, Siddheshwar and Majalgaon have no live water storage. As many as 2,348 villages and hamlets in the region are dependent on 2,359 water tankers, while only 396 water tankers were plying during the same time last year.
“We don’t know what is going to happen and how we are going to survive till monsoon. People are trying to get water from wherever possible. All sources, especially wells and borewells are going dry,” said Hari Bhanuse from Aurangabad.
The administration faces the major challenge of catering drinking water to over 1.87 crore people living in eight districts of Marathwada. The region has over 56 lakh livestock and water and fodder problems are multiplying.
District administrations are dependent on private wells and borewells that have been acquired to ration the water supply. Against a normal rainfall of 682.9mm, Marathwada got 534.6mm rainfall between June and September, resulting in depletion of groundwater levels across the region.
Balasaheb Ghuge, a small farmer from Osmanabad, says more and more people from the region would leave their villages in the next few weeks. “Surviving is going to be difficult as there are no resources for water. Every summer, thousands migrate to western Maharashtra in search of jobs, but this year the number will increase. Already, many people have left their villages,” he said. However, even western Maharashtra is facing water scarcity. Compared to 40 per cent live water storage in dams in the region last year, western Maharashtra has 27 per cent water in its dams.
The Vidarbha region is also reeling under water shortage. The Amravati division in Vidarbha has comparatively better water storage ( 25.6 per cent) than Nagpur division which has 12.21 per cent live storage.
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