Sangli leaders demand water at canal committee meeting, question who is holding it back

A meeting of the canal committee at the District Collector's office on Thursday turned heated over Sangli's water. Chaired by Water Resources Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil, the meeting saw people's representatives from Sangli district, including MLA Gopichand Padalkar, take a tough stand. Minister Jaykumar Gore joined the meeting online.

The meeting asked who was holding back Sangli's water and who had given them the authority to decide on water that is Sangli's by right. It was said that the Krishna riverbed had dried up because Sangli's water had been stopped for the past eight to fifteen days. The meeting also asked why Sangli alone faced a ban on lifting water and the prospect of power connections being cut.

Sangli has not been getting its share of water for the past few days, and the shortage in villages along the river has worsened. With the Krishna riverbed dry, the question of drinking water has become serious along with that of farming. The meeting raised the point that while a ban on lifting water was being imposed in Sangli district, power supply and water lifting continued in Satara district. Asking why there was discrimination over Sangli's rightful water, the legislators pressed the administration and the Water Resources Department.

MLA Gopichand Padalkar said in anger, "Our water is stopped every time. Who are you to stop Sangli's water?" MP Vishal Patil also asked why lifting water was banned in Sangli when it was being lifted in Satara district. He also raised the point that the water belongs to Sangli, so why it should have to depend on another district to use it.

Minister Shambhuraje Desai attended online and clarified that he had not stopped the water. He said the water stock in the Koyna dam was lower than last year, and spoke of equitable sharing of water. Even so, with the riverbed in Sangli lying dry, the questions of who has the authority to release water and why Sangli does not get water on time heated up the political atmosphere in the meeting.

Former MP Sanjaykaka Patil also took an aggressive stand on the issue, saying Sangli must get the water it is entitled to. MLA Jayant Patil and other representatives demanded planning of water in the drought-hit areas and rotations of the Mhaisal and Tembhu schemes. They also demanded that water used for power generation be made available for irrigation.

The questions of Sangli's water, Satara's interference and the administration's planning led to a sharp tussle among the representatives at the meeting. The legislators said that merely holding meetings and giving assurances would not solve the problem, and that water would actually have to be released into Sangli's riverbed. The whole district is now watching what decision the Water Resources Department takes on these demands and when Sangli gets the water it is entitled to.