Why in News:

• Water storage in reservoirs of most States of west and south India has dipped to less than the average of last 10 years, the Central Water Commission (CWC) said, indicating a worsening water crisis.

Details:

• In the western region, which includes Gujarat and Maharashtra, there are 27 major reservoirs with total live storage capacity of 31.26 billion cubic metres.
• The total live storage available in these reservoirs is 11% of the total live storage capacity.
• The storage during the corresponding period last year was 15% and the average storage of the corresponding period in last 10 years was 19% of its live storage capacity,” the CWC said. Private weather forecaster Skymet said that rainfall in Vidarbha, Marathwada, west Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat will be “poorer than normal”, while southern India is expected to receive below normal rainfall.

CWC

• CWC is apex Technical Organization of India in the field of Water Resources.
• It is presently functioning as an attached office of Union Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation. It is charged with the general responsibilities of initiating and coordinating schemes of control, utilization and conservation of water
  resources throughout the country.