Akole Tehsil in Ahmednagar district is currently battling with severe drought conditions in the region due to rapidly depleting water reserves. Given Akole's hilly terrain, water supply is provided by government tankers.
Rajendra Bhor, from the Panchayat Samiti, highlighted the continuous efforts to mitigate water scarcity.
"Despite measures being taken to address the situation, the water shortage is as severe as in 2018-2019. The supply of water by tankers is ongoing, but the question remains: when will the water from these schemes reach the homes of the affected people? The region is facing a critical situation, and urgent measures are needed to ensure a sustainable water supply to all affected areas," he said.
Dams in the region
The Bhandardara Dam currently holds only 16% of its capacity, while the Nilwande Dam in Akole taluka stands at 14%. Due to this dire water shortage, water is being supplied by tankers to 4 villages and 29 wadis in the taluka.
Currently, the Nilwande reservoir has 1.182 thousand million cubic feet (TMC) of water, and the Bhandardara reservoir has 1.774 thousand million cubic feet (TMC).
The following villages and wadis are receiving water from tankers: Gawarwadi, Pirsaiwadi, Malwadi, Vilasnagar, Pisewadi, Kalamb village's return, Garwadi, Handewadi, Dongarwadi, Maserewadi, Khowewasti, Ginhewadi, Menkhind, Khadkewadi of Deothan dam, Gangdwadi, Pagirwadi, Thakarwadi, Kanadwadi, Nayakarwadi of Muthalane, Amble, and Tirde. The water supply effort now involves 21 batches of water distributed by tanker.
The Bhandardara dam is discharging water at a rate of 1031 cusecs, while Nilwande is discharging 150 cusecs into canals and 1500 cusecs from the Pravara riverbed. The Adha project has 0.4 thousand million cubic feet of water (TMC), circulating at 70 cusecs through right and left canals. Various other lake projects in the area have a combined total of 0.4 thousand million cubic feet of water (TMC).
