According to the information available, Panshet and Warasgaon are filled 88 per cent and 95 per cent, respectively. Khadakwasla dam has 72 per cent water storage of its total capacity. All the three dams were filled 100 per cent in August last year.

Irrigation department officials said all the three dams are normally filled 100 per cent sometime in August every year. The three dams have not been filled even in third week of September because of inadequate rains in the catchment areas.

The gates of dams are normally opened in August to release the additional water. However, the gates were opened only twice this year after arrival of monsoon.

The rainfall received in the catchment areas of Panshet and Warasgaon dams is 1639 mm and 1718 mm, while Khadakwasla catchment area recorded 396 mm monsoon. The officials admit that the rainfall was not satisfactory compared to previous statistic. However, the officials see no reason to get panic. They maintain that inadequate monsoon in no way would affect supply of water either for drinking purpose or for agriculture.

The officials are confident that they could meet city's water need with the current storage in three dams.

The current dry spell has also seriously affected growth of crops in the region. The officials in agriculture department fear that the present dry spell would bring down the kharif crop production.

For more than a month, south Maharashtra has not received a good rainfall. The statistics show that Pune city alone received 70 mm rainfall in August every year. However, rainfall recorded in the city in August was hardly 24 mm, the official sources said.

The dry spell is also in surrounding districts of Satara, Sangli, Kolhapur, Ahmednagar and Solapur. The officials in agriculture department said the growth of kharif crops which mainly include bajra and groundnut had stopped because of lack of monsoon. The department has already sent a report to the government saying that production of kharif crops was certain to decline due to poor rains.

While the inadequate rain have already given farmers a torrid time, weather conditions have further added to their woes. Because of continuous clouds, the crops have been infested with pests and insects. The officials fear that in Pune district crops like rice, soyabean, tur and groundnut would be totally destroyed if satisfactory rainfall was not received.

According to the officials, the inadequate crop may also affect rabbi crops by the end of this year and may lead to water scarcity in April next. The situation is unlikely to change immediately as the information provided by the meteorological department reveal that the region of south Maharashtra is not likely to receive good rainfall at least in the next week.