BENGALURU: Even as Tamil Nadu has been receiving copious rain over the past few days, with cyclone Michaung hitting the coast, coupled with the North East monsoon, outflow from the Cauvery from Karnataka is at 3,250-3,300 cusecs, with Bengaluru and southern Karnataka being blessed with good showers.
While there has been a political hue and cry about releasing Cauvery water, sources said 3,250-3,300 cusecs are quietly flowing into Tamil Nadu regularly due to the good rain.
Sources said this is not the flow from Kabini or KRS dams, but the excess runoff in the zone between KRS and Kabini to Biligundlu. Sources in the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said the rainfall in Bengaluru is around 200 mm from October 1 to date, while the Cauvery basin has received a fair amount of rainfall during this period, thanks to the northeast monsoon and different weather systems.
In September-end, the Cauvery Water Management Authority told Karnataka to release Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu to make up a shortfall of 0.7 tmcft that had piled up during the fortnight ending September 27. Karnataka had said it would be difficult to release water as there was a deficit in water yield because of the poor southwest monsoon. In an unsavoury attack, BJP had tweeted that whenever Siddaramaiah takes over as chief minister, the state suffers from drought.
HM Revanna, a former minister from Congress, said, “When rain failed in Karnataka, BJP rubbed salt on Karnataka’s wounds by seeking to blame Siddaramaiah. Since then, nature has taken over and there has been copious rainfall in Tamil Nadu.”