Maharashtra Water Supply and Sanitation Minister Gulabrao Patil on Monday directed the administration to prepare and submit realistic, village-wise action plans for potential water scarcity across all stages in the Nagpur, Amravati, and Konkan divisions by October 25.

Minister Patil also instructed officials to prioritise the completion and operationalisation of drinking water supply projects under the Jal Jeevan Mission that have reached between 75 per cent and 99 per cent progress.

The minister’s directives come after the state government has already announced drought in 304 talukas following scanty rainfall and launched 12 mitigation measures.

Addressing a high-level review meeting, Minister Patil evaluated the water supply status, groundwater levels, and mitigation measures for potential water scarcity in Nagpur, Amravati, and Konkan regions. While noting that there is currently no severe water scarcity in these regions, the Minister emphasised the need for administrative preparedness ahead of upcoming months.

“The administration must remain proactive. Action plans should be framed based on ground-level inspections and extensive consultations with public representatives, sarpanches, gram panchayats, and local officials,” he said.

Minister Patil instructed that pending works such as pipeline laying, pump installation, electrical connections, and transformer setups for projects in their final stages must be completed on a priority basis.

Schemes exceeding 75 per cent completion must have their package details verified and certified promptly to ensure smooth funding releases. He said that a dedicated plan for strengthening local water sources must be created for potential tanker-dependent villages.

Authorities should utilise 2 per cent of the District Planning Committee (DPC) funds primarily for source augmentation. Groundwater recharge works, including well recharging, farm ponds, cement bandharas, cement plugs, continuous contour trenches (CCT), and repairs of older bunds—must be carried out by tapping into District Planning, Mining, and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds, he stated.

Minister Patil reiterated that deploying water tankers should only serve as an ultimate last resort. Prior to that, officials must enforce cleaning and disinfection of available public wells. He asked the administration to focus on the rejuvenation of local water sources and efficient water budget planning and disciplined water conservation practices.

He strictly instructed officers to immediately visit villages and take necessary action whenever complaints regarding water scarcity surface or media reports highlight local distress.

To ensure long-term operational success, Minister Patil said that fixed timelines must be established to hand over completed and successfully tested water supply schemes to Zilla Parishads or Gram Panchayats. In cases of delay by local bodies in accepting projects, formal proceedings will follow state policy guidelines.

Zilla Parishads and Gram Panchayats are expected to handle operation, maintenance, and electricity billing effectively. Local officials were advised to coordinate directly with District Collectors and Zilla Parishad Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) to resolve any persistent transformer or power connection hurdles, he said.

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) leaders on Wednesday strongly hit back at Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray following his recent assertions regarding a “saffron identity” and “regime change” and said that the public will reject this rhetoric.

While addressing a massive gathering during the annual Dussehra rally at the historic Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Park in Mumbai, Thackeray openly asserted that they were present to change the regime, arguing that any government failing to serve public interest must be replaced.

Reiterating his party’s claim to the saffron identity, Thackeray said, “Bhagwa (saffron) is our identity; no one can steal our identity.”

Thackeray remarked that a saffron atmosphere is currently present everywhere, and emphasised that this sacred saffron flag must be hoisted not only at the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly but also on the throne of Delhi.

Reacting sharply to these statements, Maharashtra Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA, Ram Kadam, speaking to media, stated, “The fear of ‘Operation Tiger 3’ was clearly visible in Thackeray’s speech.”

He claimed that the deep regret of ‘abandoning’ Hindutva was thoroughly evident. “Because of this very regret, Thackeray repeatedly pronounced the word Bhagwa and continuously took the name of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj throughout his address,” Ram Kadam alleged.

Kadam further questioned what he termed as the “double standards” of Thackeray, claiming that the “nation has witnessed how individuals accused of riots like Umar Khalid, who chant praises for Afzal Guru, are embraced and supported by Thackeray, and how he walks hand in hand with Rahul Gandhi, who repeatedly attacks Sanatan Dharma and links saffron with terrorism.”

Joining the criticism, Shiv Sena spokesperson Shaina NC told media, “Uddhav says that he doesn’t want ‘scarf-wearing’ Hindutva. But in 2019, when he formed an alliance with the Congress, he embraced ‘cap-wearing’ Hindutva.”

“Balasaheb Thackeray always urged people to say with pride that they are Hindus, whereas Uddhav Thackeray now advises people to say with pride that they are for regime change. The only difference is that one represents real Hindutva while the other stands for fake secularism,” she claimed.

Meanwhile, Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha member, Milind Deora, acknowledged that every citizen and every Opposition party possesses the democratic and constitutional right to protest; however, he strongly objected to the language used by Thackeray to compare situations with countries like France, Albania, Bangladesh, and Nepal.

“Every citizen and every Opposition party has the right to contest elections against the government and to make statements against the government. This is their constitutional, democratic right. However, the language used to compare things with France, Albania, Bangladesh and Nepal is clearly an attempt to spread anarchy and violence,” Deora alleged.

“The people of India will never accept this. If they want to bring about the so-called change, do it through elections, by earning people’s vote; not like this,” he told media.

A 19-year-old second-year Chemical Engineering student at the Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT), Mumbai, has committed suicide in his hostel room in Matunga.

The student, identified as Siddhesh Patil, was a native of Nashik and resided at the ICT College hostel. According to preliminary information, the incident occurred at around 10:30 p.m. when he hanged himself from the ceiling fan in his room.

Mumbai Police have registered an Accidental Death (AD) report and initiated an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the incident.

According to information received in connection with the case, Patil had reportedly been experiencing mental health difficulties over the past few days and was undergoing treatment.

On the day of the incident (Tuesday), he reportedly sent a message to his doctor expressing emotional distress. The doctor promptly informed the student’s family after receiving the message.

Following this communication, the family contacted Patil’s friends at the hostel and asked them to reach his room immediately to check on him.

However, the friends reportedly arrived after the suicide had taken place.

The Matunga Police are investigating the case and gathering information to establish the sequence of events. Further details are awaited as the investigation continues.

The incident has drawn attention to the mental well-being of students pursuing higher education away from their families. It also underscores the importance of accessible mental health support and timely intervention when students experience emotional distress.

Earlier in September, a second-year student of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay died by suicide after he was found using a mobile phone during an examination, triggering protests by students on the institute’s Powai campus.

The incident marked the third reported suicide at the IIT-Powai campus in the past six months.

The deceased student was identified as Sahil Wakode, who was pursuing his second year in the Department of Energy Science and Engineering. According to the institute, Wakode had uploaded an examination question paper to ChatGPT in an attempt to obtain answers while the test was underway.

IIT-Bombay said no disciplinary proceedings had been initiated against him following the incident. The matter was discussed with the student by the examination instructor and the Head of the Department. They counselled him and assured him that the incident would not have an adverse impact on his academic career, the institute said.