Mumbai, March 22 (IANS): The MahaYuti government in Maharashtra has asked officials to tackle the drinking water shortage in the state on a war footing.

The water storage in reservoirs of the state has reportedly dropped to 41 per cent of capacity and there has been a massive spurt in the demand for water tankers especially in the rural areas.

According to the state Relief and Rehabilitation Department, there are 940 tankers deployed for water supply in 3,000 villages and hamlets against 29 tankers supplying water in 21 villages and 73 hamlets during the corresponding period last year.

The water in most of the rivers and sources dried up in March due to less rainfall and the administration expects the situation may become further deteriorate in the coming days.

In 2,994 small and big reservoirs only 41 per cent water is available which was 58 per cent last year. The water scarcity in Marathwada, which has eight Lok Sabha seats, is more severe as only 21 per cent water storage is available in various dams and reservoirs there. One of the major dams in Marathwada, the Jayakwadi dam has been left with only 46 per cent water storage while in the Pune region, only 42 per cent water is left against 72 per cent available last year.

The situation in North Maharashtra's Nashik region is not much different as there is only 40 per cent availability. However, there is a silver lining as there is 50 per cent water storage in various dams and reservoirs of Nagpur, Amravati and Konkan regions.

A senior official said that the administration is keeping a close eye on the water availability in the rural areas in particular as at present, 940 tankers supply water in 860 villages and 2,054 hamlets. Of these, 381 are alone in Marathwada supplying water to 300 villages and hamlets, 271 tanks in Nashik supplying water to 900 villages and hamlets, and 258 in Pune for 1,280 villages and hamlets.