Water Crisis In THIS Maharashtra Region; Breweries May Run Dry, Officials Warn

Water supply to breweries in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district of Maharashtra might be curtailed if necessary to fulfill the demand of drinking water in the area, which is the priority for the administration.

Maharashtra Water Crisis: Breweries in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district of Maharashtra may receive a limited supply of water as parts of Marathwada region battle a severe water crisis triggered by inadequate rainfall, officials have said.

According to officials, water supply to breweries in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district might be curtailed if necessary to fulfill the demand of drinking water in the area, which is the priority for the administration.

A senior official said Monday that making drinking water available for citizens was the priority for the district administration.

“If the water requirement of breweries in the city is more, then we can take a decision to curtail their supply,” District Collector Dilip Swami replied when asked about the water management and availability in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.

Swami, while interacting with newsmen as part of the ‘Samvad Setu’ programme organised for discussions over the upcoming Lok Sabha polls in the district, said water supply has hit a critical low due to inadequate rainfall in the Marathwada region.

Notably, the Nath Sagar reservoir, which is filled by the Jayakwadi Dam, supplies water to residential and industrial areas of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and neighbouring Jalna district.

Amid scarcity, 443 water tankers have been operating in the district as of April 4. As of now, 269 villages and 48 hamlets are dependent on tanker water supply, a revenue official said.

According to the excise department twelve firms are engaged in making liquor and beer in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.

In the 2023-24 financial year, these companies manufactured 761.53 lakh bulk litres of liquor and 3,778.28 bulk litres of beer, generating a revenue of Rs 5,455.70 crore for the state government, which was Rs 347.14 crore more than the previous year (2022-2023) year, according to an excise official.

(With PTI inputs)