AURANGABAD: The backward Marathwada region in Maharashtra is facing acute water crisis due to insufficient rainfall as only one per cent of live water stock has remained in nine major dams, even as the monsoon rains have been hitting the region since last one month.

The situation has become so worse that about four out of the nine dams have zero per cent live water stock since last one month.

The statistics available with the Divisional Commissionerate here shows that the lone major dam in Hingoli district - the Siddeshwara, the Urdhva Painganga of Yeotmal district, Parbhani's Yeldari project and the Nimna Terna of Osmanabad contain zero per cent of live water stock.

Now, there is no other option but to utilise the dead water stock in these districts. Therefore, the administration has banned utilisation of water for agriculture usage and strictly allowed to use it for domestic purposes.

The largest water project, the Jayakwadi of Paithan, which is popularly known as life-line of Marathwada, has only one per cent live water stock remaining in it. The second major project in Nanded district, the Manar, also contains only one per cent live water.

Two major dams in the drought-prone Beed district, Manjara and Majalgaon projects, contain respectively six and three per cent water stock.

Incidentally, Vishnupuri project in Nanded district has highest water storage of 18 per cent in Marathwada. Despite this, there are highest number of tankers deployed in the district for water supply.