Pune: Pune division is left with only 25.26% water storage in its dams, the lowest among all divisions in Maharashtra, raising concerns ahead of the monsoon season.
The Maharashtra government's Water Resources
Department has appealed to citizens and farmers to use water carefully as reservoir levels continue to decline due to extreme summer heat and rising consumption.
State’s Water Reserves At 33.95%…
Officials said the overall water stock in more than 3,000 dams across the state currently stands at just 33.95%. However, the situation is more worrying in the Pune division, where storage levels are significantly lower than the state average. Last year, during the same period, the Pune division had 22.29% storage.
The department warned that water use must remain controlled until sufficient rainfall replenishes the reservoirs. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has also predicted below-normal rainfall this year because of the El Niño effect, increasing the possibility of prolonged water management measures even during the monsoon months.
Heavy Evaporation Due To Summers…
Officials said the intense summer since March has led to heavy evaporation losses from dams across the region. At the same time, demand for water for irrigation and drinking purposes has increased sharply, causing rapid depletion in storage levels.
The Pune division includes several major dams supplying water to Pune city, Pimpri-Chinchwad and nearby rural areas. With reservoir levels already under pressure before the arrival of monsoon rains, authorities fear the situation could worsen if rainfall remains weak in the coming weeks.
Reserves Across State…
Across Maharashtra, the Amravati division currently has the highest water stock at 44.39%, followed by Nagpur at 42.66%. The Konkan division has 37.76% storage, the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar division 38.38%, and the Nashik division 34.60%.
The Water Resources Department has urged people to avoid wastage of water and use available stock responsibly until the dams receive fresh inflow from monsoon rains.
