PUNE, Sept. 24 -- Marathwada accounts for nearly 45% of the tankers deployed for drinking water supply across Maharashtra, with the region continuing to depend heavily on tanker-based water supply despite monsoon. According to the latest tanker supply report issued by the state government for the period from September 14 to 20, a total of 479 tankers were supplying drinking water to 418 villages and 1,568 hamlets across Maharashtra. Of these, 214 tankers were operating in Marathwada alone, accounting for 44.7% of the state's total deployment. Marathwada - comprising Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Jalna, Beed, Parbhani, Hingoli, Nanded, Dharashiv and Latur districts - currently has 211 private tankers and three government tankers supplying water to 140 villages and 91 hamlets. Within the region, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar has the highest deployment of tankers at 96. The concentration of tankers in Beed is particularly significant. The district had 65 villages and 68 hamlets dependent on tanker water during the week, with the fleet comprising government and private vehicles. Beed district collector Vivek Johnson said that the administration is assessing tanker requests on the basis of field conditions before granting permission. According to Johnson, Patoda and Ashti have recorded the highest demand for tanker water in Beed, and the administration is meeting the requirement by allocating tankers to these areas. He said that the district has fodder stock for more than 50 to 60 days and that fodder camps will be made available thereafter in accordance with state government....