No of drinking water tankers in Maharashtra increases by 12% within a week

PUNE: As the drinking water scarcity intensifies in the parched regions of Maharashtra, the number of tankers supply drinking water to remote villages and hamlets increased by 12% within a week. The number of tankers taking care of drinking water needs this year is thrice the number of tankers during comparable period of previous year.

According to the data with the state government, as on March 21, 3122 tankers were plying drinking water in the state, up 12% as compared to 2779 a week ago on March 14. While, on March 23 last year, 990 tankers were ferrying drinking water to 717 villages and 779 hamlets in the state.

Drinking water has become specifically scarce in Marathwada region, where many reservoirs have no live storage of water, while water from the dead storage of big reservoirs like Ujani is taking care of water requirements of many villages in its command area.

All the reservoirs in Maharashtra have only 24% usable water storage as on March 24 as compared to 39% on same day last year.