Storage in dams 10% higher than last yr, except for Vidarbha

Mumbai: Barring Nagpur region, water stock in all the dams across the state is 10% higher than in the corresponding period last year.In Nagpur, water stock stands at 70.9% against 79% last year owing to inadequate rains in Vidarbha. As per data from the water resources department, water stock in 2,997 dams in the state stood at 76.7% last year in this period as against 88.6% on Thursday."We have massive stock in most dams though monsoon will continue till end of September. Monsoon will end on September 21,'' a senior bureaucrat said.At least 30 dams have already filled up 100%, while more than 100 have storage of more than 50% of their capacity. In many regions, the intense spell through a fortnight in August has compensated for scanty rainfall in preceding months. "However, this intensity of the monsoon has also resulted in massive damage to crops and human life,'' he said.He said the challenge before the water resources department now will be to ensure judicious use. ``We have to use the water very carefully, to ensure it lasts till the next monsoon,'' he said.The bureaucrat said owing to heavy rains across the state, standing crop on 14 lakh hectares has been washed away. The govt will now have to draft a strategy for providing financial assistance to aggrieved farmers. "We will have to work out a loan waiver plan for providing relief to farmers. It will be a costly affair, particularly when the cash starved government has declared several populist schemes to lure different sections of society,'' he said.

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