This story is from September 17, 2019

Marathwada seeks liberation from drought-prone tag

As the region will celebrate 71st anniversary of Marathwada Liberation Day on Tuesday, experts have stressed on the need for sustainable and swift measures to help the region shed its image as “drought-prone” area.
Marathwada seeks liberation from drought-prone tag
File Photo
AURANGABAD: As the region will celebrate 71st anniversary of Marathwada Liberation Day on Tuesday, experts have stressed on the need for sustainable and swift measures to help the region shed its image as “drought-prone” area.
Activists are of the view that diversion of water from west-flowing rivers into Godavari, as proposed by the government, could alter the fate of the region.
Notably, union water resources minister Nitin Gadkari, while campaigning during the recent Lok Sabha elections, had strongly advocated the need for diversion of water.

The minister even went on to say that the Detailed Project Report for bringing water from the basin of Damanganga river for Marathwada was ready. “The project involves construction of a dam and will have financial outlay of nearly Rs 60,000 crore. Instead of the canal system, we will be bringing water through closed pipeline,” he had said.
The proposed diversion, which is being mooted for many years, received a push from the state government in July when the state cabinet decided to complete the Nar-Par-Tapi and Damanganga-Pinjal river linking projects.
The Nar-Par-Tapi river linking project — said to be a mix of lift irrigation scheme, tunnels and canal systems — is expected to fetch around 52 TMC water for Marathwada.
Water activist Abhijit Dhanorkar said diversion of water from west-flowing rivers towards Marathwada should not be delayed further.
“Administrative as well as political apathy has already resulted in wastage of time. Despite having a potential to excel on different fronts including industrial sector, the drought-prone tag is offering a major setback to Marathwada. A time-bound programme for diversion of water for the benefit of Marathwada is a need of the hour,” he said.
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