Suresh Khanapurkar advocates ‘Shirpur Pattern’ for water-secure Marathwada

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar

A special ‘Water Dialogue’ session on sustainable water solutions for Marathwada was held recently at the Chamber of Marathwada Industries and Agriculture (CMIA), featuring water conservation expert Suresh Khanapurkar, the architect of the renowned ‘Shirpur Pattern’. Organized by the Team of Associations, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, the session aimed to explore strategies for addressing water scarcity in the region.

Khanapurkar highlighted Marathwada’s groundwater challenges, rainfall disparities, and the need for community participation. He said, “I am distressed not because of the floods, but because water is flowing away. The key issue is not how much rainfall we received, but how much water we managed to store and percolate.” He emphasized that efficient water harvesting and proper planning could eliminate tanker dependency within a year. An investment of Rs 10,000 crore, he suggested, could permanently resolve the region’s water scarcity. His presentation, ‘Scarcity in Marathwada’, outlined detailed geographical and hydrological data, proposing groundwater recharge across 78% of the region to make it water-secure and expand irrigation in rainfed areas. President of CSN First Mukund Kulkarni, announced a pilot project to develop a comprehensive water conservation action plan with industry CSR support and association cooperation. The session was attended by government officials, industry representatives, water activists, and social workers, and was anchored by Hemant Landge, with the welcome address delivered by Prashant Deshpande and the vote of thanks proposed by Ravikant Pulkundwar.