Maharashtra: 71 villages dependent on water tankers due to rain deficit

71 villages and 15 wadis or small settlements are now become dependent on tankers for water in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Jalna districts.

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: With the monsoon ending with 15.87 per cent deficit in Marathwada region, as many as 71 villages and 15 wadis or small settlements are now become dependent on tankers for water in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Jalna districts, as per the administration.

The number of tankers supplying water in these two districts has reached 87 by September 8, according to a report released by the office of the divisional commissioner.

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Marathwada, comprising eight districts, recorded a rainfall of 589.10 mm against 679.50 mm which is 84.13 per cent of the expected rainfall.

The recorded rainfall in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Jalna is 87.97 per cent and 78.49 per cent of the expected rainfall, respectively, as per the report.

With the end of the monsoon, the rain deficit in the Marathwada region stands at 15.87 per cent. The percentage in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar is 12.03% and it is 21.51% in Jalna.

Villages in these two districts are now dependent on water supplied by tankers.

“As many as 55 villages and two wadis from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar are dependent on 59 tankers. The highest number of tankers are running in the talukas of Paithan (30) and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (21). A tanker each is pressed into service in Phulambri and Gangapur, respectively,” the report said.

In Jalna, 28 tankers are deployed to quench the thirst of 13 villages in Badnapur taluka and 11 in Jalna taluka. Three tankers are deployed in Bhokardan and one in Mantha taluka, it said.

In Jalna, 16 villages and 13 wadis are tanker dependent.