Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: Water storage in Marathwada's 11 major irrigation projects has plummeted to 33.59 per cent due to the delayed monsoon, with two reservoirs running completely dry, an official said on Tuesday.
The Marathwada region - comprising eight districts - has recorded only 79.6 per cent of its expected June rainfall, receiving 103.1 mm so far against a normal average of 129.5 mm, the official report stated.
The 11 major irrigation projects, which are vital for drinking, irrigation, and industrial needs, have a combined live storage capacity of 182.07 thousand million cubic feet (TMC), and as of Monday, they held only 33.59 per cent of their capacity, a significant drop from the 42.85 per cent (78.01 TMC) recorded on the same day last year, it said.
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According to the report, the situation seems particularly dire in the Dharashiv and Hingoli districts, where the Sina Kolegaon project has hit a negative storage level of -2.87 per cent, while the Siddheshwar project is effectively empty, down from 21.39 per cent a year ago.
Among the other major reservoirs, the Majalgaon and Manjara projects in Beed district are currently at 18.75 per cent and 19.12 per cent capacity, respectively.
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The current live storage in the major projects is: Jayakwadi (Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar) 28.03 per cent, Nimna Dudhna (Parbhani) 25.50 per cent, Yeldari (Parbhani) 51.70 per cent, Penganga (Nanded) 44.97 per cent, Manar (Nanded) 40.49 per cent, Nimna Terna (Dharashiv) 35.06 per cent, and Vishnupuri (Nanded) 36.51 per cent, the report says.
