7 out of 11 major irrigation dams have no water left

Out of 11 major irrigation dams in the drought-hit Maharashtra, seven have no water left in them, official figures revealed. According to the latest Water Resources Department data for the week ending April 15, only three per cent of water stock is available in all the 814 major, medium and minor irrigation projects in parched Marathwada region.

The seven major irrigation dams of Marathwada where water stock is 'zero' per cent are -- Jayakwadi, Purna Siddheshwar, Majalgaon, Manjra, Lower Terna, Mannar and Sina Kolegaon -- located in Aurangabad, Parbhani, Beed, Nanded and Osmanabad districts. Besides, Purna Yeldari dam in the region has a water stock of two per cent, Upper Penganga 10 per cent, Vishnupuri seven per cent and Lower Dudhana has 18 per cent, the data showed.

The 75 minor irrigation dams in Marathwada have just four per cent water stock, while 728 minor irrigation projects are left with paltry three per cent. Battling the acute water scarcity in various parts of the state, the department has deployed 4,356 tankers across Maharashtra to sup- ply drinking water.

Out of these, 52 tankers are deployed in Konkan, 831 in Nashik, 303 in Pune, 3,032 in Aurangabad, 131 in Amravati and seven in Nagpur division.

Meanwhile, after nine trips by a 10-wagon water train, a 50-wagon water train, christened 'Jaldoot', carrying 25 lakh litres water on Wednesday reached worst-hit Latur. According to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, so far, 70 lakh litres has been delivered by train to Latur. The train came as a big relief for Latur citizens who have been struggling to get drinking water. —PTI