Jayakwadi losing week’s water stock for drinking & other needs to evaporation in a single day

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: The evaporation losses of Jayakwadi major irrigation project from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district have surged considerably to around 2.3 million cubic metres (MCM) per day due to the current heat wave conditions.The water lost to evaporation is more than seven times the daily quota of water lifted from the dam for drinking and industrial needs among other usages for Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Jalna districts, among other areas.In-charge of Jayakwadi dam, Mangesh Shelar said the major irrigation project was losing a week's water stock reserved for drinking & other needs in a single day to evaporation losses due to rise in summer heat."The dam releases daily water of around 0.3 MCUM for drinking and industrial needs. On the other hand,evaporation losses are robbing off 2.3 MCUM water in a single day presently," he said.Stating that evaporation losses this summer are higher as compared to the previous year, Shelar said such losses are inevitable and difficult to contain.Hailed as a lifeline for parts of Marathwada, Jayakwadi major irrigation project currently holds 55% live storage. Citing historic data, authorities said the dam every year loses around 10 TMC water to evaporation, which is nearly 10% of its designed storage.Nath Sagar, the reservoir of the dam has a hugecatchment area of 21,750 square kilometres spread over Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Ahilyanagar districts.Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar on Thursday recorded a maximum of 41.4 degrees celsius, which was above the normal range by 2.7 units. Among other cities from Marathwada, Parbhani registered 42 degrees Celsius whereas Vidarbha city of Akola continues to be hottest in the state with mercury touching 44.2 degrees Celsius on Thursday, according to official data.