MUMBAI (Reuters) - Water availability in key growing areas of Maharashtra, India's second biggest producer of cotton, soybean and the biggest producer sugar, remains grim, said Ajit Pawar, the state water resources minister.

Photo: REUTERS/Punit Paranjpe/Files

"The situation (of water availability) remains grim in Marathwada," Pawar said on the sidelines of a conference.

Marathwada is a key growing region in central Maharashtra.

All the reservoirs in Maharashtra together hold 15,252 million cubic meters (MCM) of water as on Monday 17 August, down from 19,206 MCM in the corresponding period previous year, the minister said.

The total installed reservoir capacity for the state is 33,085 MCM.

Water availability remains only 12 percent of the installed capacity in the Marathwada region.