India, April 15 -- The water level in dams across the state has fallen to 41.3%. Pune region has the lowest availability at 36.31% while Amravati region has the highest at 50.09%. The existing stock must last till mid-July when the monsoon is likely to cover the entire state.

Maharashtra has 2,997 small, medium and major dams with a total live storage capacity of 40,498 million cubic metres. The total stock in these dams in mid-April was 30,034 million cubic metres or 41.30% of the capacity. Though this is 6% higher than last year's stock of 35.16%, the government machinery is alarmed this time owing to forecasts of heatwave.

Aside from dams, water tankers are playing crucial role in ensuring water supply in rural areas. As per the wate...