'This year, due to drought conditions, the production estimate was lowered to 520 mn litres. Nearly 500,000 litres of water is required per distillery per day'

Distilleries in Maharashtra face a severe cutback in operations and ethanol output due to the state’s severe water shortage. Vijaysinh Mohite-Patil, president of the All India Ethanol Manufacturers Association, told Business Standard: “Of the 90 distilleries, a large number are located in drought-hit Sangli, Satara, Ahmad-nagar, Pune and Solapur districts. Maharashtra’s ethanol production during the current fiscal year is estimated at 52 crore litres, compared to 54 crore in 2011-12 and 68 crore in 2010-11.”