Another election over, VIP Maharashtra seats among those grappling with water scarcity

However, 1 of the state’s worst water-affected constituencies happens to beryllium Baramati successful Western Maharashtra, often cited arsenic a exemplary of improvement being the turf of the Pawar family. Similarly, astir of the constituencies wherever shortage of h2o remains an contented person been represented by apical leaders for years.

Baramati, located successful the sugarcane belt, has been represented successful the Assembly by NCP main and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar for 7 consecutive terms. In the agrarian parts of the constituency, astatine slightest 22 villages autumn successful the authoritative adust zone.

With farming a loss-making task and nary concern unit, migration is the lone mode retired for youths. Villagers accidental those near down conflict to find brides.

”A fewer days aft the matrimony of 1 of my relatives was fixed, the bride’s household decided to telephone it off. They said the bride refused to get joined into a colony wherever radical conflict for drinking water,” says Sangeeta Jedhe, who belongs to a husbandman household successful Ambi Budruk village.

In 2000, a h2o strategy was started, but it continues to limp astir 25 years later. Meanwhile, the outgo has gone up from Rs 51 crore to an estimated Rs 450 crore.

NCP (SP) campaigner Yugendra Pawar, who is contesting against uncle Ajit Pawar successful the Baramati seat, has promised to marque the 22 villages successful the adust portion his apical priority. “We volition guarantee that the h2o task is completed. We volition besides look for caller sources of water,” helium says.

The concern is arsenic atrocious successful Shirdi and different constituencies of Ahilyanagar (earlier called Ahmednagar), wherever the Vikhe-Patil household has been ascendant for implicit 50 years.

Incumbent MLA Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil of the BJP has been elected 7 consecutive times from the Shirdi seat, including a bypoll, and has represented the Congress and Shiv Sena excessively successful the past. Yet, successful its villages, radical person to bargain h2o astatine the complaint of Rs 15 a jar.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Nilwande canal organisation web successful March this year, with officials promising that 180 villages successful six talukas of the territory would payment from the canal. However, villagers are inactive waiting for the water.

Dattatreya Ghorphade, 73, a husbandman from Kelvad colony successful Shirdi, says helium owns six acres and grows jowar, maize and soyabean. “This twelvemonth I invested Rs 50,000 and my nett was zero due to the fact that determination was nary water. We thought we would get h2o from the Nilwande canal, but they are inactive engaged carrying retired tests.”

Sunil Fatangade, a rootlike vendor from Kelwad, says helium spends Rs 500 a period conscionable connected h2o for drinking.

While the communicative is the aforesaid successful neighbouring villages, adjacent metropolis areas are struggling. Gaurav N, a shopkeeper successful Rahata city, says, “We get h2o for an hr each 5 days.” However, helium adds that helium doesn’t spot an enactment but to ballot for the BJP.

Vikhe-Patil claims the concern is “far amended than immoderate different constituency successful the district… but for a fewer villages”. “Even infrastructure-wise, Shirdi is acold up of different constituencies,” helium says, adding that portion successful Shirdi, “not a azygous tanker is deployed supplying water”, successful neighbouring Sangamner, “72 tankers are being pressed into service”.

The BJP person besides says that 2 rotations of h2o organisation person already taken spot done the Nilwande canal network. “The archetypal was carried retired to bash the investigating and the 2nd 1 provided h2o done the canal web for irrigation.”

Vikhe-Patil talks of different h2o schemes successful the works. “Once these are completed, h2o grievances of radical successful the constituency volition travel down drastically.”

In Sangmaner constituency, the main occupation is irrigation water. Independent sitting MLA Satyajeet Tambe says: ”In Shirdi, radical conflict to get h2o for some drinking and farming. But successful Sangamner astatine slightest determination are nary issues with drinking water.”

Senior Congress person Balasaheb Thorat has won Sangmaner 8 times and is successful the contention again. Tambe is his nephew.

Except for constituencies successful Kolhapur and a fewer successful Satara similar Karad, a bulk of the seats successful Western Maharashtra, including Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad to a lesser extent, are grappling with h2o issues.

Ex-CM Prithviraj Chavan, who is contesting from Karad South seat, says that successful astir parts of the constituency, “people get capable drinking water”. “In Malkapur city, we person implemented a 24X7 drinking h2o strategy – possibly the lone 1 of its benignant successful the country.”

Despite h2o being a pressing contented crossed the region, neither the Mahayuti nor the Maha Vikas Aghadi gave overmuch prominence to it successful their manifestos.

The ruling Mahayuti lone made a passing committedness to marque Maharashtra drought-free successful 5 years, by diverting h2o from occidental rivers.

Asked astir the lack of h2o issues successful the enactment manifesto, NCP (SP) spokesperson Mahesh Tapase said, “Whether it is determination successful our manifesto oregon not, it is simply a apical precedence for the MVA… We volition bring successful caller schemes to mitigate the h2o scarcity contented successful some cities and agrarian areas.”