Krishna-Marathwada project 99.99% complete, water testing at Ramdara tank in a month

Big news has come in on the long-running Krishna-Marathwada irrigation project in Maharashtra's Dharashiv district. Scheme No. 2 of the project is 99.99 percent complete, with the small amount of remaining work now in its final stage. MLA Ranajagjitsinh Patil said that once this remaining work is finished, testing will begin within a month to release water from the Krishna river into the Ramdara tank.

Water stocks in the district's projects are currently very low, raising the prospect of a water shortage in the coming period. In such a situation, water from the Ramdara tank will prove very useful. The path to bring Krishna river water to the Ramdara tank, located at the feet of the Tuljabhavani Mata shrine, has now been cleared by the project's final works.

One hurdle had come up in this last phase of the project. A dispute arose near Mungshi village in Barshi taluka over land belonging to some farmers, needed for a power line, which held up the work. The matter has been resolved through talks with the farmers concerned, and the work of laying underground cables is now also in its final stage. After this, the remaining work near the Ghatane barrage will be completed, following which testing will be done to release Krishna river water into the Ramdara tank.

According to MLA Patil, water from the Krishna river will be brought into the Sina river through the Ujani dam's Bhima-Sina link tunnel. This water will then reach the Ramdara tank via the Ghatane barrage. He said the Ramdara tank has a water storage capacity of 20 million cubic metres.

During periods of acute water shortage, water from the Ramdara tank can be used for drinking purposes, and there is also the possibility of supplying water by tanker to areas of the district in need. This is expected to ease drinking water problems, particularly in rural areas, to some extent.

MLA Patil said continuous follow-up is being done through meetings with the concerned departments to clear obstacles in the project. He also claimed that work has picked up pace after Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis led the granting of revised administrative approval for works worth around Rs 11,700 crore under this project.

The Krishna-Marathwada irrigation project is a major initiative launched to bring water from the Krishna river basin to the drought-prone areas of Marathwada. Its main objective is to reduce water shortages, particularly in the Dharashiv (Osmanabad) and Beed districts, and to provide irrigation facilities for farming. Under the scheme, Marathwada's share of water in the Krishna basin is to be lifted in stages and carried to drought-affected areas through a lift irrigation system. This involves works such as pump houses, pipelines, canals, tunnels and water storage arrangements.

Dharashiv and the surrounding areas have no reliable rainfall, leading to repeated water shortages. Once the Krishna-Marathwada project becomes fully operational, it is expected to help provide protective irrigation for farming, strengthen local water sources and reduce water scarcity.