Nashik’s administration has been directed to reserve drinking water supplies until August 2027 as rainfall deficits, depleted soil moisture and preparations for the Simhastha Kumbh Mela raise pressure on the district’s water resources, Guardian Minister Girish Mahajan said during a review meeting at the Nashik collectorate.
Mahajan said the district’s water reserves were currently comfortable but warned officials against complacency. He directed the administration to plan water use carefully and ensure that drinking-water requirements were protected through August 2027, covering the period of next year’s religious gathering in Nashik and Trimbakeshwar.
“The water reserves in Nashik district are comfortable. However, the weather situation warrants greater caution. The rainfall deficit has reduced soil moisture, which will increase the demand for water for all purposes,” Mahajan said, according to the Times of India report. He added that the Simhastha Kumbh Mela would further require the administration to secure water for drinking purposes.
The minister also directed officials to submit a comprehensive proposal to the Maharashtra government seeking drought-hit status for the district’s remaining five talukas. Ten of Nashik’s 15 talukas are already in the drought bracket. Chandwad, Trimbakeshwar, Niphad, Dindori and Nashik are currently excluded from that classification.
Mahajan said conditions in the five excluded talukas were also deteriorating because of erratic rainfall, poor crop growth and falling groundwater levels. He attributed the wider rainfall impact to El Nino and called for cautious use of available water. Officials were also asked to ensure fodder supplies for livestock and encourage farmers to cultivate fodder crops.
Crop-loss assessments are under way in affected areas, while tankers have been deployed to meet drinking-water needs. The report said nine tankers were operating in Yeola and seven in Nandgaon taluka. The deployment indicates that water stress is already requiring local, area-specific supply measures despite the district-level assessment that existing reserves remain comfortable.
The review also comes as Nashik prepares for the Simhastha Kumbh Mela, which is scheduled to be held in Nashik and Trimbakeshwar next year. The minister’s instruction places drinking-water allocation for the event within a longer-term district water-management plan rather than treating it as a short-term supply arrangement.
In neighbouring Ahilyanagar, Guardian Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe reviewed drought conditions in Shevgaon and Pathardi talukas. He instructed local administrations to prepare plans for tanker water supply, conduct village-wise livestock fodder surveys and complete crop-loss assessments across affected villages. Departments were also asked to submit assistance proposals and ensure timely tanker distribution.
Vikhe said the second phase of the Tajnapur lift irrigation project would be completed by December 2026 and that Rs 500 crore would be sanctioned for its third phase. He also directed officials to register criminal cases against people who illegally break pipelines to draw additional water or waste supplies.
