With water levels having fallen steadily in the last six months, a crisis is on the anvil that can have severe economic and social consequences, says a Deutsche Bank report.
According to the global financial services firm, two consecutive droughts have again brought forth the criticality of a good summer rainfall and this is particularly because of a sharp depletion in reservoir water.
"While an adequate monsoon this year will help fill up the reservoir water to a comfortable level, the challenge for the authorities will be to deal with the water-crisis in the next two months," Deutsche Bank said in a research report.
Data from the Central Water Commission show that water levels in the 91 major reservoirs in the country are currently at just 23 per cent of their storage capacity.
Reservoirs of the west and south India have the least water, compared to normal levels. The 31 big reservoirs in the five southern states have only 15 per cent of their normal water, while the 27 in Maharashtra and Gujarat have just 18 per cent.
Except for Tripura, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal, all other states have water storage levels well below their normal levels.
If the drinking water crisis becomes acute in the next few weeks in certain states such as Maharashtra, there could be likely actions from the authorities to divert water meant for industrial use towards drinking purposes, which then could adversely impact industrial sector activity.
It is critical to get a normal monsoon this year, not just for supporting the rural sector, which is under distress, but more importantly to avoid a full blown water-crisis, which can potentially have far reaching adverse economic and social consequences, the report added.
