AURANGABAD: Nearly 80 lakh litres of water is being extracted from the groundwater reserves of Aurangabad division every day to cater to the needs of people, statistics for February obtained from the district administration show.

Such overexploitation of groundwater, along with poor rainfall, is responsible for the severe water crisis in Marathwada this year, water experts have said. In some talukas like Aurangabad, Kannad, Vaijapur and Phulambri, aquifers are already dry due to overexploitation.

Marathwada would bear the brunt of water exploitation this summer with the situation turning worse than the 1972 famine, they have warned.

The water table in Aurangabad taluka, recorded by Groundwater Survey Department Authority (GSDA), has dipped drastically in the last five years. It was then available at an average depth of 6.53 metres, but is now found at 12.24 metres, said a senior GSDA official.

“Government-nurtured neglect and the backlash of economic reform policies have put farmers in Marathwada region in a stressful situation,” the experts added.