MUMBAI: Nearly half a dozen districts in North and Central Maharashtra received a good spell of showers today with authorities releasing water from the Gangapur dam into the Godavari river in Nashik.
Parbhani, Ahmednagar, Nashik, Aurangabad and Nanded districts received bountiful rains.
According to the MeT department data, Parbhani received 46 mm of rainfall followed by Nashik and Sangli (western Maharashtra) at 21 mm each.
Nashik, in North Maharashtra, has been receiving heavy rains in the last two days.
Incessant downpour in the catchment areas of the Gangapur dam has led to a significant rise in the dam's water level in Nashik district.
According to MeT sources here, tribal-dominated Igatpuri tehsil recorded 216 mm of rainfall in the past 24 hour (ended 8.30 this morning).
Tehsils of Peint, Trimbakeshwar and Surgana received 119.2, 88 and 73.3 mm of rainfall in the same period, they said, adding Nashik district has recorded 610 mm of rainfall.
The irrigation department released 4,716 cusec of water from the Gangapur dam, where water level has crossed the 75 per cent mark of the storage capacity, into the Godavari river this afternoon, the District Disaster Management Cell said.
The Darna dam, also in Nashik district, is filled up to 76 per cent of its storage capacity following incessant rains in its catchment areas, it said.
This led the irrigation department to release 6,602 cusec of water from the dam into the river.
"The river has not yet crossed the danger mark but (release of dam water) will benefit the command area in the downstream in the long term," said an official from the Nashik district collectorate.
Kharif (summer) as well as rabi (winter) crops would benefit from it, he said.
"The good showers will also fill the Jayakwadi dam on the Godavari near Aurangabad which will help the Marathwada region (which is drought-prone) meet its drinking water needs," an official from the water resources department said.
The Jayakwadi dam has a storage capacity of around 80 TMC.
Districts such as Solapur, Hingoli, Washim, Latur, Osmanabad and Beed - known as the "rain-shadow" region of the state - are yet to receive good showers, said officials from the agriculture department.
The region is a major producer of foodgrains and pulses.
The coastal Konkan region has received excess showers (more than 2,000 mm) since the onset of the monsoon in the state.
The western Maharashtra has received up to 2,000 mm of rainfall, while Vidarbha has received more than 1,000 mm of rainfall during the same period (till today).
The Central Maharashtra and Marathwada, on the other hand, have received less than 500 mm of rainfall since June 1, said the official from the water resources department.