Maharashtra: Latur receives water supply once a week as storage level in Manjara dam plummets

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Latur city in Marathwada region of Maharashtra is getting water supply only once a week as the storage level in Manjara dam plummeted to 20 per cent of its capacity, an official said on Tuesday.

Latur used to get water supply twice a week until December 2023 in view of scanty rainfall in the region, newswire PTI reported.

Manjara dam, which is the prime source of water for Latur, currently has 20 per cent live storage, a municipal corporation official said.

"In a bid to maintain the water stock till June, the administration has curtailed the water supply for Latur city," the official said.

Live storage refers to the volume available in a reservoir for holding stormwater as per the requirements of the design standards.

Until last month, Latur used to get water for around 150 minutes twice a week.

"Apart from restricting the water supply, the timing is also reduced to 90 minutes now," said executive engineer Vijay Chavan.

The monthly quantity of water lifted from the dam is also reduced to one million cubic meters, he added.

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In April 2016, parched Latur was supplied water by a special train from western Maharashtra due to drought conditions.

The average groundwater level in Maharashtra's Marathwada region has fallen by 1.01 metres. The average depth of groundwater was 4.03 metres post monsoon in the past five years, while it was measured at 5.04 metres after the rains in 2023, an official said.

The official said 61 out of 76 talukas of Marathwada have faced rain deficit between June and September 2023, including 19 talukas with a deficit of 30 to 50 per cent, newswire PTI reported.

As per a report from the ground water survey department, the average groundwater level in Jalna has gone down from 3.99 metres to 6.68 metres, which means a drop of 2.69 metres.

The report is made on the basis of survey of 875 wells across eight Marathwada districts, the official said.

"The groundwater level has gone down by 1.73 metres in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (formerly Aurangabad) and Dharashiv (formerly Osmanabad) districts. In Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar the depth is 6.88 metres against the earlier 5.15 metres. In Dharashiv, it has gone down from 3.85 metres to 5.58 metres," the official said quoting the report.

In Nanded the groundwater level has gone up by 1.12 metres, the report says.

Districts and the falling groundwater level: Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar- 1.73 metres; Jalna- 2.69 metres; Parbhani- 0.40 metres; Hingoli- 0.86 metres; Latur- 1.20 metres; Dharashiv- 1.73 metres; Beed- 1.38 metres. (With inputs from PTI)