By IANS,
Mumbai : The rain gods have smiled over Maharashtra this year with the state notching excess rainfall all over, as per official figures. The state has already notched 116.1 percent of rainfall and an average of four weeks of monsoon are still to come.
Of the total 34 districts (including Mumbai), 29 have received more than 100 percent of season’s total rainfall, as compared to 2009.
This, in turn, has showed significant increase in the water levels in dams, lakes, reservoirs and other storage systems across the state.
The rainfall and the comfortable water situation in the state was discussed Wednesday at a cabinet meeting presided over by Chief Minister Ashok Chavan.
According to official sources, presently, 24,869 million cubic metres of water is available in the state, as compared to 16,248 million cubic metres last year.
Accordingly, in terms of percentage it is around 69 percent compared to just 45 percent in 2009.
The good rainfall has brought cheer to the huge farming community in the state which has started sowing for the kharif season in right earnest.
Of the 132.34 lakh hectares on which kharif crops are grown, this year, sowing has been already done on 138.74 lakh hectares – marking an increase of five percent over last year.
However, the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) has decided to adopt a cautious approach vis-à-vis the water supply situation in Mumbai.
The MCGM has decided to continue its watercut of average 10 percent till September-end.
As per the official statistics, the 16 districts which have received 120 percent or above rains are: Sindhudurg, Ahmednagar, Solapur, Satara, Sangli, Aurangabad, Jalna, Beed, Latur, Osmanabad, Parbhani, Hingoli, Buldhana, Washim, Amravati and Wardha.
The 13 districts that have received rainfall between 100-120 percent are: Thane, Ratnagiri, Dhule, Jalgaon, Pune, Nanded, Akola, Yavatmal, Nagpur, Bhandara, Gondia, Chandrapur and Gadchiroli.
And those having between 80 and 100 percent of rainfall are: Raigad, Nashik, Nandurbar and Kolhapur.
The rainfall figures of Mumbai district and Mumbai Suburban District have not been included in the official list.