Water in the line of fire in Maharashtra

PUNE: With only 20 per cent usable water in all the state's reservoirs as against 42 per cent last year on same date and some big reservoirs like Ujani and Jayakwadi having negative to zero percent usable water, a drinking water crisis is looming large over urban as well as rural Maharashtra.

In addition to the existing 20 per cent water cut, the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai has decided to stop water supply to several other establishments from Thursday . The water storage in the dams that supply water to the city is still deficient by 70 per cent compared to their normal water storage for this period.

Pune, the second biggest city in the state, has been getting water every alternate day as two of the four dams that supply water to the city have no usable water. In the drought-prone areas of Maharasthra, the ground water has depleted so much that it is not sufficient even for drinking water purpose.

Water is being supplied by 1,731 tankers to about 1,600 villages and close to 4,000 hamlets in the state. During the corresponding period of last year, 2,689 tankers were supplying drinking water in the state. The state has started using even the dead stock of water from Ujani dam, which is considered lifeline of Solapur district.

"The situation is a little better this year due to the good rainfall of last year. We have extended the period of some of the relief measures till July 31 after which will take review of the situation," said Rajesh Kumar, secretary, Water Supply, Maharashtra. He added, "Situation is difficult in Pune, Nashik and Aurangabad divisions."

The main lakes that supply water to Mumbai are about 100 km away from the city. Although the rainfall has been good in Mumbai, so is not the case in the catchment areas.

"As of today , the rainfall in these water bodies is deficient by 70 per cent," said Ramesh Bambale, the deputy municipal commissioner of BMC.

Based on the average of previous 10 years, the storage in various dams in Shapur taluk, Mumbai's water source, should have been 4.5 lakh million litre. After a good rainfall in the catchment areas on Wednesday, it has risen from 1.11 lakh million litre to 1.45 lakh million litre on Thursday. Last year, the water storage in these lakes on the same day was 9 lakh million litre.

The municipal corporation has decided to stop water supply to all the swimming tanks it operates within the city . It does not provide water to the privately operated swimming pools too.

The water supply to star hotels and malls will be cut by 50 per cent, the bottling plants of aerated drinks will get water only for the drinking water requirements of their staff and not for commercial use.

The municipal corporation will stop watering its gardens, while the construction sites will be allowed to use only 15 mm pipe. Pune Municipal Corporation too has put restrictions on use of water by construction sites as well as the swimming pools. BMC is also exploring the possibility of cloud seeding.

It has received two applications for the tender it had floated, the financial bids for which would be opened on July 19. "We will take a call on cloud seeding depending upon the rainfall situation. We expect to get a good rainfall by July 22," said Bambale.

The state government has already reserved all the water in the dams and reservoirs solely for drinking purpose. With absence of even one good rainfall, the sowing has been done on 18 per cent of what was done last year.

As on July 14, kharif crops excluding sugarcane, were sown over 21.12 lakh hectare as against 113.31 lakh hectare during corresponding period of last year. Sugarcane, the only standing crop in the fields now, has already started wilting and being diverted for use as cattle feed.