It’s raining, but not enough to fill KRS
BENGALURU: Despite the rainfall in the catchment areas of KRS reservoir, there has not been an increase in the reservoir level, which is now a matter of concern. The KRS reservoir level as on July 24 is 87.90 TMC as against 122.75 TMC last year on the corresponding date. The live storage level is 10.32 TMC against the holding capacity of 45.05 TMC. Last year the live storage level was 42.23 TMC.
This has raised an alarm bell and officials from Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre, Neeravari Nigam and other departments have raised concerns. They are waiting for the political scenario in the state government to normalise to prepare a state disaster formula plan to present it before the Cauvery Tribunal.
KRS is not just an important source of water for Bengaluru city, but also for Tamil Nadu. As per records, up to Wednesday (July 24), 3.2 TMC water has been released to Billigundlu in Tamil Nadu.
According to KSNDMC records, there has been a 44% deficit rainfall in Kodagu. There has been isolated heavy rainfall in Kodagu, which has not been sufficient this year. KSNDMC Director G S Srinivas Reddy told the New Indian Express that though heavy rainfall was forecast, on an average there has been only 20 mm rainfall on an average per day in Kodagu, Hassan and Mysuru.
This is too less. Even normal rainfall in the catchment areas will not ensure normal inflow into the dams this season. He said that there has been an inflow of 32 TMC water into the reservoir which is not noteworthy, against 110 TMC inflow. Last year the inflow this time was 116 TMC. From March to June, around 70% rainfall period is over, so the departments have to wait till end of August to know the ground reality and exact situation.
Weathermen said that a similar bad condition (of low inflow in reservoirs) had happened in 2011, and it took a few years for the inflow to improve.
The situation has left farmers worried in the state. “The state is still struggling to meet both drinking water and agrarian demands,” said member of a farmer forum.
Farmers protest release of water to TN
Mysuru: Scores of farmers on Wednesday staged a rasta roko on national highway 212 near Hale Tirumakoodalu on the outskirts of T Narsipur town, protesting against the release of water to Tamil Nadu from Krishnaraja Sagar (KRS) and Kabini reservoirs in the state. Due to the protest, the otherwise busy traffic on the particular stretch of the highway came to a grinding halt for sometime. Farmers who had gathered under the banner of Karnataka Stage Sugarcane Growers Association raised slogans against both the state and the Central governments and the Cauvery Water Management Authority for releasing water.