Aurangabad: More than two-and-a-half years after it came into limelight for receiving water by train, Latur now has enough water to meet its requirements. Relatively better rainfall and plethora of conservation work has paid rich dividends for Latur.At present, while most parts of the parched Marathwada region are leaning on tankers, Latur district has not pressed even a single tanker into service. As per 2011 Census, Latur district has nearly 948 villages across 10 tehsil and a total population of 24,54,196.Latur district disaster management officer Saqueb Osmani on Saturday said that ten talukas from the district had received relatively better rainfall during the last monsoon season. “Latur district as a whole recorded nearly 501mm rainfall, which accounts for 62% of its normal rainfall. The receipt of nearly two-third rainfall has ensured the district does not need tankers so far,” he said.Latur district administration has credited the success of the ‘zero tanker’ tag to the state’s flagship water conservation scheme of Jal-Yukta Shivar. “As per our analysis, the villages which witnessed different work under the scheme are having less severity of the water crisis. The scheme has helped increase the groundwater table. This has warded off the need for water tankers,” Osmani said.Along with Latur, Parbhani and Hingoli districts have also not made any requisition for water tanker so far. Parbhani district reported average 62% of average rainfall, while Hingoli district registered 76% of average rainfall.Similar to Hingoli, Nanded district registered 12% more rainfall this monsoon than previous year. It is receiving only two tankers currently.A senior civic official from Parbhani Municipal Corporation (PMC) said that the need of tanker due to scarcity could arise by mid-January next year. “We have water supply through tankers for some locality on a perennial basis as 40% of city area does not have pipeline. However, actual dearth of water due to scarcity could start in next few weeks,” said Wasim Pathan, acting water supply head of PMC.While water situation is not severe in Latur district at present, especially compared to the other worst-affected five districts from the region, the authorities concerned said that it remained to be seen how things would be in summer. Sources said that some areas of Latur district may require tanker service in summer.

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