India News | Study Needed on Ujani Dam Water Supply to Latur: Maha Minister

Latur, Jun 26 (PTI) Maharashtra water resources minister Jayant Patil on Saturday said experts have been directed to study the feasibility of providing water from Ujani Dam in Solapur district to people in Latur.

The dam has been built on Bhima river, a tributary of the Krishna river, and has been at the centre of several promises by politicians cutting across party lines that its water would be supplied to parched Latur city.

Speaking at a press conference while touring Latur during the day as part of the NCP's 'Pariwar Sanvad Yatra', Patil said he had received memorandums from state ministers Amit Deshmukh and Sanjay Bansode as well as MLA Babasaheb Patil about supplying water from Ujani Dam to Latur.

Not promising if the demand could be met, the minister, who is also Maharashtra NCP chief, said, "Experts have been asked to study the feasibility of supplying Ujani Dam water to Latur. It will require detailed study."

The minister said there was also some legal difficulty in supplying water from this dam to people of Latur, though he did not elaborate.

He, however, said the area would get some relief when the Manjara and Nimn Terana projects are completed by the end of 2021, adding that attempts were being made to convert weirs constructed on Tiru and Manyad rivers in Latur into barrages.

Latur often hits the national headlines when an acute shortage of water forces the state government to request the railways to run 'water trains'.

(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)