AURANGABAD: Water right activists are pressing for early release of water into Jayakwadi from upstream dams located in Nashik and Ahmednagar in order minimize the transition losses as the canal system becomes completely dry by the end of October.As the region is staring at possible acute water scarcity, immediate steps have been sought for the desired release of water. The state water resources department (WRD), in a meeting held on Monday, has decided in favour of release of 6.07 TMC water into Jayakwadi from upstream dams.Water right activist Abhijit Dhanorkar said the WRD authorities should have issued the order for desired water release on Monday itself. "Around 40% transition losses take place during release of water from the source to the destination. In such case, the effective quantum of water to be received by Jayakwadi dam would be very less," he said.Left leader from Parbhani Vilas Babar said the delay in water release for Jayakwadi was giving ample time for vested interests from Nashik and Ahmednagar to create hurdles in equitable distribution of water."The WRD authorities should act in the light of directives issued by the Maharashtra Water Resources Regulatory Authority (MWRRA) instead of any political pressure," he said.It should be noted that it was last in October 2015 that the Godavari Marathwada Irrigation Development Corporation (GMIDC) had ordered the release of 12.84 TMC water for Jayakwadi project from upstream dams in line with the standing orders of the MWRRA.As per official data, Aurangabad district is currently supplied with 160 water tankers in wake of deficient run of monsoon. The worst affected talukas include Gangapur (59), Vaijapur (48) and Paithan (42). Among other districts, Jalna (35), Nanded (2) and Beed (1) are also being supplied with tankers to address the issue of drinking water needs.When contacted, a senior WRD official said order pertaining to water release for Jayakwadi would be issued shortly. "As told earlier, we have been taking exact stock of situation of water usage by different dams during Kharif season. It will help in deciding amount of water to be released from each group of dam towards Jayakwadi," he said. The MWRRA, in May this year, had order the GMIDC to set up the Standing Supervisory Committee to ensure equitable distribution of water in the Godavari River . The panel was asked to supervise the use of water during Kharif season among other mandates, and the data recorded could prove useful for quantum of water to be released by each group of dam.

Stay updated with all the Latest Aurangabad headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.