As the water crisis deepens in Maharashtra, 305 villages and 547 hamlets have been added to the list of habitations to be taken care of with the help of water tankers. The stress over access to clean water is increasing as more and more villagers are coming forward complaining about water scarcity.
Reuters
The meteorological department has forecast a delay in the arrival of monsoon and with fresh water stock in dams depleting rapidly, this is likely to become a problem for the people as the people living in 4,920 villages and 10,506 hamlets are now dependent on water tankers for their supply. The count of parched villages has gone up from 4615 to 4920 in just seven days between May 20 and May 27, the Indian Express reported.
A total of 6,209 tankers have been put to task of supply water to these villages and hamlets and this number is highest in Maharashtra¡¯s history. Last year around this time, only 1622 tankers were used to supply water and? around 6,000 tankers were used in 2016 which was a monsoon deficient year.
Chief Secretary, Maharashtra, Ajoy Mehta, spoke to The Indian Express and confirmed that the state is highly dependent in water tankers to supply water to the parched villages and hamlets.
¡°The state is facing a severe drought and water shortage. But adequate mitigation measures have been put in place. We have asked the local district collectors to implement relief measures on a war footing. The implementation is being monitored at the highest level,¡± said the chief secretary.
With the crisis worsening, Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had instructed senior bureaucrats in Mantralaya to review the implementation of relief measures. A report in this regard is being readied.