Water in dams falls below 25%, scarcity looms over Vidarbha

In the summer months, the state’s eastern region, Vidarbha, also known for the ongoing agrarian crisis is likely to face water shortage.

The water storage across major, medium and small dams in Amravati region and Nagpur region of Vidarbha has now dipped below 25%.

The live storage of the dams in Amravati division now stands at 945 million cubic meters, while the live storage of dams in Nagpur stands at 1,971 million cubic meters. Live storage refers to water level that is high enough to flow out of sluice gates and can be easily drained out of a dam. That’s 22.64% of the designed live storage in all dams in Amravati and 21.37% of the designed live storage of all dams in Nagpur.

The information collated on a weekly basis by the water resources department shows that as on March 11, last year this storage in Amravati was at 37.58 per cent and in Nagpur it was at 23.80 per cent.

In rest of Maharashtra including the dry Marathwada region, the water storage in dams is much better. Overall in the state the storage in all dams across the regions is 46.52% when compared to 41.69% last year.

The economic survey tabled in the state legislature last week had pointed to less than normal rainfall in the state last year at 84%.

In nine major dams in Vidabha the live water storage is below 15 %.

``We have started supplying water by tankers in some villages across Nagpur and Amravati regions but the scarcity can be managed and the situation will not be akin to Marathwada in 2016-17,’’ said a senior revenue department official.