Pilgrims would be unable to take a holy dip on Gudi Padwa today in Nashik due to water scarcity.
Highlights
- Ramkund considered a sacred bathing spot on the Godavari river in Nashik
- Thousands of pilgrims will have to skip taking a holy dip there this year
- Civic body asked to provide water to perform basic religious rituals
Ramkund, the holy bathing spot on the river Godavari in Maharashtra, has gone dry for the first time in 139 years. Thousands of pilgrims in Nashik town for a holy dip today to mark Gudi Padwa or the New Year by the Hindu calendar will find mostly puddles of water, say officials.
The area has become a playground for children who play cricket and football there.
"Pilgrims expected to turn up at Ramkund will not be able to take the holy dip, at least till July-end," Nashik Municipal Corporation's Deputy Mayor Gurmeet Bagga told IANS.
Running out of options, the civic body is believed to be considering bore-wells on the river banks to replenish what is the main pilgrimage centre during the Kumbh Mela held in Nashik.
A body of priests, the Purohit Sangh, has appealed to the civic body to arrange water to facilitate basic religious rituals on Friday. Overnight, water tankers were called in and now there is knee-deep water, hardly enough for a dip.
At present, Mr Bagga said, the corporation is supplying around 100 litres a person each day in Nashik; soon the quantity may be reduced because of acute water scarcity.
"Our target is to conserve water till the third week of July when heavy rains start and continue till mid-August to replenish the water bodies," the deputy mayor said.
On Thursday, the Bombay High Court said the water crisis was now an emergency in Maharashtra and "political will" was needed to resolve it.
The court was hearing a petition against holding Indian Premier League or IPL matches in the drought-hit state because cricket grounds need lakhs of litres of water to prepare.
In biting criticism, the judges said to India's cricket board the BCCI, "It is a question of priority - a game or people...
Are you going to maintain gardens and stadiums when people are dying? Is this what you are saying?"
With large parts of the state confronting severe drought, the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation has announced that it
will disconnect water supply to Thane near Mumbai for up to 60 hours each week.