In a prescription to tackle the drought situation in Maharashtra, state Agriculture Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil has urged Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan to stop water supply to the real estate sector and other water-intensive industries such as soft drink units, until the situation improves.

Vikhe-Patil said, “The first priority should be water for drinking, the second for agriculture and the third for industries.” In the last one week, almost 50 MLAs across parties had urged the CM to take immediate steps to restrict use of water in industries. Even some NCP MLAs had asked Water Resources Minister Sunil Tatkare to prevent industrial units in their districts from drawing backwaters from dams.