The water rake carrying 25 lakh litres every trip between Miraj and parched Latur will continue for some more days because the rainfall in the area — especially the northern parts of the district — is still not enough, district officials told dna.
Latur collector Panduran Pol said the rainfall in the area where the Manjara dam is situated — on the Osmanabad and Beed border — has not been adequate. "Manjara dam is the main supplier of water to Latur city; if the rainfall in this area is not good enough, then water supply to Latur city gets affected. Therefore, the water rake is needed and that is why it will run for more days," said Pol.
He added that southern parts of the district have received good rainfall and the outlook seems good for the rest of the season. According to Latur district officials, the daily requirement of water for Latur city is 50 million litres.
Latur city is one of the nine urban clusters in the district. While 500 villages of the district have their own water sources, the water being brought in by railway wagons is used to supply to Latur city, said district officials.
The water rake has been running for almost 80 days now and has transported over 1,5 crore litres to the drought-hit township. The first water rake carrying five lakh litres left Miraj for Latur on April 11. The first full 50-wagon rake carrying 25 lakh litres had left for Latur on April 19.
Currently, two water rakes are running between Miraj and Latur, with the water being drawn from the Krishna river and transported over 375km in 50-wagon trains.
