Nearly 250 villages in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar in Maharashtra's Marathwada region are tanker dependent due to lack of water following poor monsoon, an official said.
Quoting a report of the divisional commissioner, he said, as on March 26, the number of tanker-dependent villages in the region was 497, while the figure for hamlets was 150.
"The number of villages dependent on tankers in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar is 245 and the hamlets stand at 45. Of the 763 tankers plying in Marathwada's eight districts, a total of 385 are in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar," he said.
"In Jalna, there are 148 tanker dependent villages and 55 hamlets. A total of 235 tankers are being used to supply water. The figure is 80 villages and 50 hamlets in Beed, while the number of tankers is 93," he added quoting the report.
In Dharashiv, 42 tankers are supplying water to 22 villages, while eight tankers are plying in seven villages in Latur, he added.
As per the report from the divisional commissioner, there are no tanker-dependent villages in Nanded, Parbhani and Hingoli districts.
Meanwhile, the water level in 750 minor irrigation projects across the Marathwada region has dropped to 12.92%, down from 34.28% at the same time last year, according to an official on Monday. The irrigation department released a report on water levels in these projects across eight Marathwada districts: Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Jalna, Beed, Hingoli, Dharashiv, Latur, Beed, and Parbhani as of March 22.
The report stated, "Water storage stands at 210.91 million cubic meters (MCM), which is 12.92% of capacity, in Marathwada. On March 22 last year, the water storage was 578.06 MCM, or 34.28% of total capacity."
It further highlighted, "The lowest storage is in Jalna, with just 2.40 MCM of water in 57 projects, accounting for 1.42% of storage capacity. The highest storage, at 36.09%, is in 80 irrigation projects in Nanded district."
