Sena chief wants water stopped at beer units

Amid severe drought-like situation in Marathwada, Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray asked the Maharashtra government to stop water supply to beer manufacturing units.

Manufacturing one litre of beer requires about four to five litres of water and this is slowly compounding into a major political issue.

“Water supply to beer units should be stopped in view of the drought,” Uddhav said at Aurangabad, the divisional headquarters of Marathwada region, on Saturday.

The Jayakwadi village in Paithan taluka of Aurangabad district - which is over the Godavari river - supplies water to the city. It is one of the biggest projects, but water level has come down significantly.

However, Rural Development Minister Pankaja Munde, the daughter of late Gopinath Munde, felt otherwise. “If beer units are using drinking water, it should be stopped.
But discontinuing supply of water reserved for them as industrial units is not alright,” she said in Beed.

Meanwhile, Water Resources Minister Girish Mahajan said he has sought a report from the Aurangabad Divisional Commissioner.

“If needed, we will not hesitate to stop water supply to these units,” he said.