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Mumbai: With the monsoon not as bountiful as expected, Maharashtra might be forced to effect drastic cuts in Mumbai's share of water and the power supply to the rest of the state.
Those hardest hit by the whimsical monsoon are the three million farmers of Vidarbha where a good spell of rain in June prompted the first and second sowing of cotton.
"But the long gap of 20 days without any rain has harmed both cotton and soya bean crops and farmers are now looking to the government, which has declared a drought-like situation in Vidarbha," Kishore Tiwari, a Vidarbha farmers' representative in Nagpur, told Gulf News.
As it is, Mumbai has been making do with 15 per cent less water since July 1 but the delayed rains have forced the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to extend the rationing till the six lakes that provide water to the metropolis build up needed reserves. Mumbai draws its water from the Modak Sagar, Vihar, Tulsi, Tansa, Upper Vaitarna and Bhatsa lakes. Water levels in these natural reservoirs are likely to remain low with the dry spell expected to continue for another ten days or so.
With the monsoon playing truant, the state government has asked people to be prepared for power cuts. At a recent meeting with officials, Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh said that efforts to source additional power notwithstanding, load-shedding could not be wished away.
Areas like Thane, Vashi, Baramati and Pune that had been spared power cuts will now experience load-shedding for one hour each day. In areas that come under the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation, load-shedding will be stepped up from 16 hours to 24 hours.
Maharashtra's electricity supply is limited to 8,500 megawatts as against a demand of 12,000 megawatts.
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