Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Aug 28 (PTI) The water stock in the Jayakwadi dam in central Maharashtra's Marathwada region has risen to 64.3 per cent and water can now comfortably be released for irrigation, an official said on Wednesday.

The Jayakwadi reservoir on the Godavari river supplies water for industrial, drinking and irrigation purposes to Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Jalna and other towns in the eight-district Marathwada region.

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“The storage reached 64.3 per cent on Wednesday morning. There is ample stock for irrigation this year,” said Chief Engineer Samadhan Sabbinwar. He said they won't need to depend on the release of water from dams upstream.

Water can be released from the Jayakwadi dam once the stock crosses 33 per cent, the official said. The present situation points to a decent stock, he said.

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“We required around 150 MCM (million cubic metres) of water for the year for industrial and drinking purposes. The rest can be used for irrigation this year,” the chief engineer said.

The dam currently has 1,395.90 MCM of water, another official said. The reservoir is still receiving water 66,666 cusecs of water.

According to a revenue department official, the water stock in 11 major reservoirs in Marathwada reached 53.41 per cent on Wednesday. It is around 10 per cent more compared to the stock on the same day last year, he said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)