Water Crisis Deepens in Marathwada; Number of Tankers Doubled in Just 20 Days

Amid deficient rainfall, the number of tankers deployed to supply water in rural areas of Marathwada region in Maharashtra has doubled to 478 over twenty days, an official said on Tuesday.

The region has received merely 77 per cent of the average expected rainfall to date. The eight districts have received 233.5 mm of rainfall since June, whereas the average expected rainfall (till July 28) is 302.2 mm, according to a report from the Divisional Commissioner's office.

In the previous year on the same day, the region had received 279.6 mm of rainfall, which was 92.5 per cent of the average expected rainfall, it said.

On July 7, 103 villages and 84 settlements were dependent on 200 tankers for drinking water. This figure has crossed the double mark in just 20 days, with 428 tankers now ferrying water to 257 villages and 130 settlements across Marathwada.

The administration of the districts in Marathwada had acquired 887 wells to supply water to villages and replenish tankers. With rainfall remaining scanty and uneven, the number of acquired wells has also reached almost 1,000.

Currently, the administration has 987 wells, as per official data.

Out of 428 tankers, 224 are deployed in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district alone, followed by 108 in Jalna, 71 in Beed, 15 in Nanded, eight in Dharashiv, and one each in Latur and Hingoli. No tankers are deployed in Parbhani district so far, the report added.

The highest number of wells, at 207, are acquired in Nanded district.