Latur: Marathwada has seen terrible droughts before. But never the case like this time, the two oldest wells in Wadval Nagnath village in Chakur taluka of Latur dry up which have been around over 100 years.
About eighty other wells -both old and new -situated in and around Wadval Nagnath, too, have almost dried up. Few borewells are functioning. “The owners have decided not to use the water for their crops and have opened the wells to the public,” says sarpanch Shilpatai Rajkumar Bendke.
The water in the well owned by Annasaheb and Ambadas Patil has turned so muddy that it can’t be used for drinking. Raosaheb Bhanje’s well is dilapidated but the water is potable.
“But it’s risky. Sometimes people slip and fall in. But, we manage to rescue them,” says Bendke. The village gets two tankers a day to service its population of about 10,000. “We store the water, it is then pumped into the overhead tank. It is supplied to the village for a few minutes. But it isn’t enough,” she says.
A team of the Central Water Commission visited Aurangabad on Saturday and discussed with state government officials possible measures to address water scarcity in the region.
Around 68 irrigation projects in Marathwada which could be completed in the next two years have been identified, for which funds worth Rs1,236 crore would be sought from the central government.
Eknath Khadse, state revenue minister spoke to newspersons after attending the CWC meeting. He said senior government officials have made a detailed presentation before the CWC team of measures that could be taken. “The proposals will be forwarded to the Centre for financial assistance,” he said. The Krishna-Marathwada irrigation scheme, which involves lifting water from the Ujani dam, was one of the medium-term projects presented before the central team. The scheme has a financial outlay of Rs 5,599 crore and is expected to benefit parts of Osmanabad and Beed districts.
“The long-term plans that could require more than five years involve drawing water from the river basins from other regions such as Konkan and Vidarbha. These proposals will need the approval of the National Water Development Agency ” he said.
KOLHAPUR
Kolhapur: According to the Ground Water Survey Agency (GSDA), the average groundwater level in the district has dropped by 0.6 metres.
Chandgad tehsil in the district has reported a groundwater level depletion by almost a meter. Karvir tehsil, which also covers Kolhapur city, has seen a depletion of 0.8 metres.Kolhapur district is otherwise known for surplus rainfall and even overuse of water for agriculture.Now, water train from Jalna to Latur
AURANGABAD:
Aurangabad: Latur city and nearby areas, which are now getting water from Miraj through train, are likely to get more water from Partur in Jalna district soon. Revenue minister Eknath Khadse said efforts were under way to lift water from Lower Dudhna irrigation project and supply it to Latur by train. The railway minister has given his consent to facilitate another water train for Latur, Khadse said on Saturday. The water train is expected to have 50 wagons and it is likely to reach Latur in a fortnight, Khadse said.