Even as the coronavirus situationin Maharashtra is grim, there is some solace for the state as far as the water stock is concerned as it has reported nearly three times more useful storage as compared to the corresponding period last year.The state had faced successive years of drought over the past few years. However, most parts of the state had received good rainfall last year.According to a Maharashtra government report of May 15, the 3,267 major, medium and minor projects across the state collectively reported live (useful) storage of 17,066.71 million cubic metre, which is 41.73 per cent of their total capacity of holding 40,897.95 million cubic metres live stock.On May 15 last year, the collective stock available across these dams was 14.92 per cent.Some major dams, including Manjara (in Beed) in the Marathwada region, which witnesses parched swathes during the summer, however, have run out of their useful content this year as they had in the last season too.The nine major dams in the Aurangabad division of Marathwada have 1,798.89 million cubic metre stock till now, which is 43.9 per cent of 4,097.77 million cubic metre collective storage capacity of live storage.Last year, the stock available across these dams in Aurangabad, Beed, Hingoli, Nanded, Osmanabad and Parbhani districts was just 0.44 per cent.The Jayakwadi dam at Paithan in Aurangabad district, a key project in the region, had dried (in terms of live stock) last year. However, this year, it has reported a big leap of 1,017.91 million cubic metre live stock, that is 46.89 per cent of its capacity of holding 2,170.93 million cubic metre useful storage.Similarly, the dams in Majalgaon (Beed), Yeldari and Siddeshwar (Hingoli) and Lower Terna (Osmanabad) recorded relatively better stock this year.The dams like Manjara, Sina Kolegaon (Osmanabad) and Lower Dudhana dams, however, have run out of their useful stock as they had last year.The 10 major dams in the Amravati division of Vidarbha, which too witnessed dry stretches when the temperature soared, have at present 1,190.48 million cubic metre live stock, that is 47.95 per cent of their collective useful storage of 2,482.65 million cubic metre.On the same day last year, the total useful stock available at these dams in the division- which covers districts such as Akola, Amravati, Buldhana and Yavatmal- was 16 per cent.The Khadakpurna and Pentakali dams, which ran into dead storage last year, have reported 29.35 per cent and 81.83 per cent of their respective total useful stock holding capacity now.In the Nagpur division of the region, the live stock available in the 15 major dams was 1,755.41 million cubic metre, that is, 51.34 per cent of their collective 3,418.87 million cubic metre live stock.In 2019, the live stock available on the corresponding day in the dams in the division that covers districts like Bhandara, Chandrapur, Gadchiroli and Gondia, besides Nagpur was 6.95 per cent.The Gosikhurd (Bhandara) and Nand (Nagpur) dams, which had no live stock left last year, have reported availability of 15.62 per cent and 22.7 per cent of their respective useful storage holding capacity.The Dina dam in Gadchiroli has no live water stock left in it this year too.The six dams in the Konkan region- comprising Palghar, Sindhudurg and Thane- have 49.28 per cent (892.44 million cubic metre) of their collective 1,683.65 million cubic metre capacity live stock as against 31.02 per cent last year.Nashik division's 24 dams together haveavailable 1,591.86 million cubic metre (42.58 per cent) of their 3,738.75 million cubic metre collective live stock holding capacity.In the previous year, the stock available in the region that covers districts like Ahmednagar, Jalgaon and Nashik, was 11.71 per cent.The Pune region with 29 dams has 4,528.3 million cubic metre (40.14 per cent) live stock available at present of the total live stock holding capacity of 11,281.44 million cubic metre.Last year, the live stock available across these dams in Kolhapur, Pune, Sangli, Satara and Solapur was 13.57 per cent.The Dimbhe, Ghod (Chinchani), Pimpalgaon Joge and Wadaj dams in Pune and Bhima (Ujjani) project in Solapur, which had recorded 0 per cent live stock, are all better placed this year, according to the data.The Temghar dam in Pune, which also reported 0 per cent stock last year, has 2.12 per cent live stock available this year.
