The state government had been mulling over providing drinking water to drought-hit Latur through railway wagons however state water supply and sanitation minister Babanrao Lonikar was unaware of any s
The state government had been mulling over providing drinking water to drought-hit Latur through railway wagons however state water supply and sanitation minister Babanrao Lonikar was unaware of any such scheme and had no answers to queries on tackling the water crisis.
According to government figures, Marathwada was worst affected by drought with water levels in Beed, Latur and Osmanabad districts having gone down below 600 feet.
Mr Lonikar said that apart from the Jal Yukt Shivar scheme, his department had decided to further increase the depth of rivers so that water-storage level increased in the event of good rainfall. “After chief minister Devendra Fadnavis’ instructions, JCB and Pokland machines have been brought to the Marathwada region for the purpose. We have set a target to completely remove mud settled in all small rivers across the region within four to five years,” he said.
Asked to comment on the government plan to tackle the drinking water crisis, Mr Lonikar said, “The issue was discussed in the Cabinet sub-committee meeting but I cannot disclose the committee's decision.” Asked to shed light on the government plan to supply water using railway wagons, he said, “I have no information on the issue.”
State relief and rehabilitation minister Eknath Khadse, however, said that the state was considering supplying water from Ujni dam near Pandharpur to Latur city through railway wagons. “We have instructed officials to calculate the expenses that the government will incur for this plan. Each wagon of the goods train that will supply water will have a capacity of around 70 thousand litres,” he said. “Expenses in providing water through tankers are much more than providing through the railways,” he added.
Mr Khadse said that ministers from Marathwada including Pankaja Munde and Babanrao Lonikar had been instructed to visit drought-affected villages in the region and submit factual reports before the upcoming Cabinet meeting. Ms Munde and Mr Lonikar will embark on a four-day tour of Marathwada starting Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Mr Lonikar said that 1,751 tankers were currently in service to provide water to 1,342 villages and 2,362 wadis in the Marathwada region.
Water in Nanded was being supplied from Vishnupuri dam, while Jalna and Parbhani were getting water from the lower Dudhana project, which had a capacity of 12 TMC.
