Nagpur: If 2017 was tough, water scarcity is expected to be worse this year. The overall rains in Vidarbha have been better than the previous year, but rains have been below average in the catchment area of dams like Totladoh and Kamptee Khairi on Pench river, which meet the city’s needs. The Pench river comes from Madhya Pradesh side.
Last year, Vidarbha Irrigation Development Corporation (VIDC) was not able to spare water for the paddy crop grown in the kharif season. This year, after farmers protested, water has been released for two rounds of irrigation this season. Low rains in the areas feeding the dam, and the irrigation, has reduced the availability for city’s drinking water needs.
Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) submits its annual requirement to VIDC every October 15, when the dry season has finally set in. Even as NMC is yet to estimate the current year’s needs, sources in VIDC say the civic body will have to either observe cuts or increase dependence on sources other than the dams. The other sources include water from Gorewada and Kanhan, on which NMC mainly relies.
Last year itself, NMC drew more water than its quota set by VIDC, and paid a penalty. This time, even if the civic body is ready to pay more, there may not be water to spare, said a senior official working under the water resources department (WRD).
The water quota is fixed as per norms set by Maharashtra Water Resources Regulatory Authority (MWRRA). Sources said VIDC would prefer to stick to the quota this time. In July last year itself VIDC had written to NMC to look for sources other than the dam.
The current water level at Totladoh dam stands at 31% as against 42% as on September 30, 2017. Kamptee Khairi on the other hand has 35% level this year as against 64% last year. In terms of million cubic meters (MCM), both dams are left with around 430 MCM of water. The dams should have at least 300 MCM of water at any given point of time for drinking water requirement, said sources.
It may appear that the present level may still be enough to meet all the needs. However, there is a catch, said sources involved in water management. Around 100 MCM will now go for irrigation, for which the second round was given recently.
Apart from this, 80 MCM will have to be written off as evaporation losses and over 40 MCM will have to be set aside for power plants. This leaves around 200 MCM as against the minimum level of benchmark of 300 MCM.
A senior official in NMC dealing with water supply said they are yet to calculate the city’s requirement. After it is done by October 15, it is up to VIDC to allot a quota. NMC will decide its further course of action mid-October.
