The Maharashtra Government on Thursday announced in the State Assembly that within next 15 days it would ferry water to the water crisis-hit town of latur in worst drought-hit Marathwada, where the authorities imposed prohibitory orders at Parbhani recently to prevent violence near distribution spots.
Replying to a discussion in the Assembly on the water scarcity in various parts of the state, particularly in latur, State Revenue Minister Eknath Khadse said: "We have made arrangements to supply water to latur through trains. The first train carrying water will reach latur within a fortnight".
Khadse's announcement should be seen in the context of the fact that prohibitory orders were enforced near water supply spots in drought-hit Parbhani town under section 144 of CrPC till May 3 to ensure against any clashes among the local over distribution of water. The State Government has deployed Home Guards to check people milling around taps and tanks in large numbers, a situation that may result in law and order problems.
The Assembly witnessed a heated discussion on the water scarcity in latur, with the Opposition Congress and-NCP members accusing the state government of having miserably failed in addressing the drought and consequent water crisis across the state.
At one stage, former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan of the and Khadse indulged in a war of words. "The minister is more interested in delivering speeches in the House than solving the water crisis at latur. like the minister himself said that one can do many things if one had political will, we in the previous Government had in 2013 solved the water problem in Osmanabad city ( also in Marthwada) by laying a pipeline of the length of 115 km. If it had the political will, the current government could have done the same thing for latur," Chavan said, as he hit out at Khadse.
In his retaliation, Khadse said: "It is because we have political will that we are planning to transport water to latur by trains. The previous Government lacked political will. That's why it could not solve the drinking water problem at latur. Come what may, water will reach latur through train within a fortnight".
"Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday informed me that if needed, water from Telangana will be supplied to us (Maharashtra). "No matter whatever the cost, we will supply water to these drought affected areas," Khadse said.
Earlier, during the discussion, Khadse charged that late senior Congress leader Vilasrao Deshmukh, who hailed from latur, had failed to address the water shortage problem in his home town despite having been the chief minister for eight-long years.
Meanwhile, official sources said that there were plans to shift inmates from jails in drought-affected Beed and latur districts to other prisons of Maharashtra in the wake of unprecedented drought. "The State Government is working on a plan to shift the prisoners to other places like Nashik and Dhule," a senior State Home Ministry official said.