MUMBAI: Entire Vidarbha and parts of Marathwada region are reeling under acute shortage of water owing to poor monsoon. In fact, water stock was zero in some of the dams in the Vidarbha region on Monday.
Further, a large number of tankers have been sent to several villages in Vidarbha and Marathwada regions. Last year, 176 tankers were deployed across the state, while on August 7, 440 tankers were sent to meet the drinking water demand in 2,087 hamlets and villages.
As per the information on the website of the water resources department led by senior BJP leader Girish Mahajan, water stock in dams across the state stood at 52.1% on August 14; it was 59.4% on the same day last year.
In Amravati region, water stock stood at 21.5%; last year, it was 54.8%; in Nagpur region, water stock decreased this year to 20.9% from 50.5%. In Konkan region, water stock in dams remained around the same at 88%-89%, while in Marathwada region, it decreased to 25.1% this year from from 26.4% in 2016. In Nashik region, water stock in dams increased from 49.1% to 57.8% and in Pune region, it decreased from 76.2% last year to 72.9%.
A senior bureaucrat said it is an alarming situation in Vidarbha region as in several dams, water level has touched the zero mark or dipped drastically. In the major Upper Wardha irrigation project, water stock recorded was 43%; last year, it was 90%. In the Khadakpurna project, the water stock was zero.
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