OREANDA-NEWS. Tata Power, India's largest integrated power utility, has continuously endeavoured to improve the quality of life of communities in and around its areas of operations. In continuation with this philosophy, Tata Power's Ahmednagar wind farm team initiated the drive to supply water to five villages around Khandke and Supa wind farms in Maharashtra.

Inadequate rainfall in Maharashtra in the past year has led to the worst drought experienced by the region in the last 40 years, thereby causing acute shortage of water in Ahmednagar. The villages near Tata Power's wind farms with capacity of 68.4MW do not have proper infrastructure for water storage and are dependent on small wells and a few hand pumps which have now gone dry.

Water supply was started on May 4, 2013, and will be continued through the peak summer period of May and June. Till now, the initiative has benefited 10,341 villagers as Tata Power has provided 50,000 litres of water (10,000 litre/village) through tankers on a daily basis. The villages use the supplied water for personal consumption and their cattle, which forms an integral part in sustaining their livelihood.

Speaking on this initiative, S Padmanabhan, ED, operations, Tata Power, said “Tata Power is committed to the welfare of the communities around its area of operations. 'Care for our community' is our philosophy and this initiative of providing drinking water is a step towards demonstrating this commitment.“

Tata Power has also initiated a campaign on water conservation to increase awareness amongst villagers. Banners on water conservation have been displayed on the tankers, various water collection centres and also at prominent locations in the village to sensitise the villagers on utilising water wisely and effectively. Furthermore, Tata Power is planning to plant around 700 trees to prevent soil erosion and enhance the green cover of the villages from July 2013 onwards.