As the mercury rises in Maharashtra, so does the desperation of the State Government to supply water to drought affected parts of the State.
The Government is now considering deploying atmospheric water generators, which converts air to potable water.
These innovative generators are available in the market and tend to absorb vapour from the atmosphere, which is then processed through a series of filters and condensers to produce potable water.
Chief Minister of Maharashtra Prithviraj Chavan, addressing the media on Monday, said that a few companies have approached the State Government for deploying the machines. At a cost of about Rs 15 lakh, the machines consume a lot of electricity and only produce about 1,000 litres of water per day. Therefore, the financial viability is being worked out, he said.
The State Government is also offering the reverse osmosis technology for filtering of water, and has also undertaken desilting of lakes and other water bodies, which will increase their capacity to store water in the forthcoming monsoon season.
Chavan said that given the acute drinking water crisis, the State Government would also be offering to the citizens, reverse osmosis machines for cleaning muddy water. However, they would have to pay a small fee for using the machines, he added.
Stating that the water bodies in the State are being surveyed using sonar machines, Chavan said this would help identify silt and sediments in these bodies.
“The silt is being removed, so that that in the next monsoon these bodies hold more water. The silt, being rich in minerals, is being carted away by tfarmers for use in farms, which will improve soil health,” Chavan said.
Regarding cities like Osmanabad and Jalna, which are facing acute water shortage, temporary pipelines are being set up, which will provide water to the residents.
The task of setting up the 114-km long temporary pipeline for Osmanabad in south-central Maharashtra is difficult but is being done on a war footing, he said.