Aurangabad: Much to the dismay of farmers in Marathwada, the Godavari Marathwada Irrigation Development Corporation (GMIDC) has ceased water release from Nilwande dam in Ahmednagar district for Jayakwadi dam.Admitting that the release has been withheld, GMIDC authorities from Ahmednagar said on Sunday that the measure was taken in order to facilitate water rotation for irrigation purpose.The move has sparked outrage in Marathwada as the Bhandardara group of dams from Ahmednagar district is yet to release 1 TMC water towards Jayakwadi dam as against the 3.85 TMC water promised to the latter as per the formula of equitable water distribution.On the other hand, the nod from the Supreme Court and the assurance from chief minister Devendra Fadnavis have failed to move Gangapur and Palkhed dams into releasing water for Jayakwadi, each of which owe the latter 0.6 TMC water.A senior GMIDC official from Ahmednagar region said on Sunday that it was not possible to simultaneously release water both for Jayakwadi and for irrigation purpose.“We have technical constraints in releasing water simultaneously considering the discharge capacity of Bhandardara dam. Therefore, the release towards Jayakwadi dam is being kept on hold for the time being and will resume once the release for agricultural purposes is over,” said the official who wanted to be anonymous.Water from Bhandardara dam is first released towards Nilwande dam en route to Jayakwadi dam. That Bhandardara dam has withheld the release towards Jayakwadi dam since November 8, allegedly without any official intimation to stakeholders in the downstream areas, came to the fore only during the weekend when farmers in Aurangabad district observed a marked decline in the flow of water towards Jayakwadi.Authorities attached with the GMIDC control room said that no upstream dam from Nashik and Ahmednagar was releasing water towards Jayakwadi dam by Sunday evening.“Of the five groups of dams, two groups of dams have already completed the discharge process towards Jayakwadi dam . While both Gangapur and Palkhed has withheld the release of the stipulated 0.6 TMC water from the very beginning, Bhandardara-Nilwande dams still owe 1 TMC towards Jayakwadi dam,” said authorities adding that total 8.99 TMC water was to be released from different upstream dams.Water rights activist Abhijit Dhanorkar said the not releasing water from Nilwande dam as well as Gangapur and Palkhed dams was tantamount to contempt of the Supreme Court and that of the directives of Maharashtra Water Resources Regulatory Authoroty (MWRRA).“As per official directives, the entire release process has to be over by October 31. GMIDC authorities have been setting a wrong precedent by abruptly stalling the release process ,” said Dhanorkar.GMIDC executive director Ajay Kohirkar could not be reached for comments.Around 60km from the city, Jayakwadi major irrigation project recorded nearly 31.15% live storage by Sunday evening. Water was being released at a speed of 1,700 cuses for command areas from the left bank canal system. The steady discharge, which is on since October 23, is expected to take the water upto the farthest end of Parbhani district through a 208 kilometer long canal system.

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