Maharashtra dams water storage goes down, only 19% remaining

While the city and suburbs received satisfactory rainfall on Wednesday, many parts of the state still remain dry.

The monsoon is expected to reach other parts over the next few days. Farmers in Maharashtra are desperately waiting for the already delayed monsoon to commence the sowing season, which has been delayed for over a month.

According to the state government data, only 25% rainfall has been recorded in 16 districts. "So far, total 6% sowing has been reported due to the subdued monsoon. Out of 134.7 lakh hectares of total kharif land, only 8.43 lakh hectares came under sowing," reads the state report.

Only 19% storage has remained in water supplying dams. Due to scarcity of water, the state has startedsupplying water through tankers at many places. "Presently, we are supplying drinking water to 1,464 villages and 3,317 hamlets in the state. To tackle the drought prone situation, state dams water will now be used only for drinking purposes. It will not be used for irrigation or other commercial purpose till the entire state gets the satisfactory rainfall," said the state government official.

The state has asked its district administrative officials to submit the tankers water supply bills early, so that they can be cleared soon.

Indian meteorological department officials say that the monsoon is reviving. "Monsoon will proceed in other parts of the state over the next few days. Generally, once Mumbai starts getting rainfall continuously for a couple of days, it starts progressing in other parts as well," said the state official.