Irrigation Department Enforces Ban on Agricultural Water Lifting

The water scarcity situation in Kolhapur City is worsening every day, leading the civic body to implement water tankers throughout the city to ensure access to drinking water. 

Following this, Netradip Sarnobat, a water engineer from the Kolhapur Municipal Corporation (KMC), has written a letter to Rohit Bandivedkar, executive engineer at the irrigation department, requesting a daily reservation of 160MLD of water to meet the city's water supply needs. 

According to Sarnobat's letter, water pumping stations have been built at Bakinga, Nagdev Wadi, and Shingnapur. However, considering the daily water needs of Kolhapur City, it is essential to allocate 160MLD per day.

On Monday evening, women residing in the Shahupuri Kumbhar Galli area took to the streets near Wilson Bridge at Laxmipuri to stage a 'rasta roko', expressing their discontent over the inadequate water supply they have been experiencing since the previous week. 

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The protesting women claimed that Kumbhar Galli has been without water for several weeks, while the neighboring lane in Shahupuri receives a regular supply. They demanded a change in the water key operator for their area and insisted on receiving a consistent water supply.

In the event of a delayed monsoon, the possibility of implementing an alternate day water supply will be considered in the upcoming week, as stated by an official.

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Due to the delayed onset of rainfall, the water levels in dams have significantly declined. Consequently, the irrigation department has issued a directive to prohibit the extraction of water from the Bhogavati and Panchganga rivers for agricultural purposes, effective from Monday midnight. 

This ban will remain in effect for three days. Specifically, the ban encompasses the regions spanning from Radhanagari Dam to Shingnapur Dam on both sides of the banks of the Bhogavati River, as well as the stretch from Prayag Chikhli to Ichalkaranji for the Panchganga River.

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