Replying to a starred question posed by MLA Amit Deshmukh, the minister made remarks on former chief minister late Vilasrao Deshmukh and said: "It was sad to see the state of affairs pertaining to water scarcity in Latur, especially when late Vilasrao Deshmukh was the chief minister for eight years and a minister for almost 25 years."
While announcing that the government would supply water to Latur by train in the next 15 days, minister for agriculture, revenue and rehabilitation Eknath Khadse on Thursday said that Latur city was facing a crisis since water from Manjara dam was released for sugarcane farms instead of being reserved for drinking purpose.
Replying to a starred question posed by MLA Amit Deshmukh, the minister made remarks on former chief minister late Vilasrao Deshmukh and said: "It was sad to see the state of affairs pertaining to water scarcity in Latur, especially when late Vilasrao Deshmukh was the chief minister for eight years and a minister for almost 25 years."
His remarks fuelled angry reactions from the entire Opposition and Opposition leader Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil demanded an apology from Khadse. Khadse maintained that there was no reason to apologise since he presented the facts. Khadse added that water from Manjara dam was released to downstream barrages and used for sugarcane crop, which resulted in a crisis of drinking water in Latur. Khadse pointed out that the Manjara cooperative sugar factory has completed crushing of sugarcane only yesterday and has crushed more than 1.5 lakh metric tonnes of cane. Had the water that was provided for cane crop was saved in Manjara dam, it would have averted the drinking water crisis in Latur.
Former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan, Vikhe-Patil, NCP group leader Jayant Patil and others alleged that the government wants to politicise the issue. Chavan said that during his tenure as CM, a 115km pipeline was laid and water was brought to Osmanabad, but this government lacks that political will. However, Khadse replied by saying that it is only because of political will that despite drinking water was being diverted to sugarcane crops, his government would provide water by train.
Replying to a question posed by Deshmukh on migration, Khadse informed that there is no migration from Latur.
Jailed Bhujbal writes to CM
In jail for alleged corruption, former deputy chief minister Chhagan Bhujbal has written to chief minister Devendra Fadnavis seeking that work on the Manjarpada project — which will divert water that otherwise flowed off to Gujarat to parched areas of the state in north Maharashtra and Marathwada — be expedited. Bhujbal, who is lodged in the Arthur Road jail, noted that while Fadnavis had spoken about officials not working according to his bidding, "he (Bhujbal) was not convinced", adding that "officials comply with many things that you (Fadnavis) ask them to do".
"There are many problems in the state, of which some are man-made and some are acts of nature. But the important issue is that of drinking water. Agriculture is facing a crisis. The farmer is in trouble. At this moment, supplying drinking water to people and animals and saving them is most important," said Bhujbal in the handwritten letter dated Wednesday. He added that the projects on which little balance work remained needed to be completed fast.
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