BENGALURU: With 132 per cent excess pre-monsoon showers since January this year, and good southwest monsoon and excess northeast monsoon, the state has already released 100 tmcft of excess Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu for the June 2021 to May 2022 water year. The state has released 277 tmcft as against the required 177.25 tmcft for the entire water year, as per the final order of the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal, said sources in the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC).
“Since January this year, the state has received 231 mm of pre-monsoon rainfall as against the norm of 100mm, the highest in 50 years,” said former director of KSNDMC, Dr GS Srinivas Reddy. South-interior Karnataka, including the Cauvery basin, has received 120 per cent excess pre-monsoon rainfall, he added.
During the southwest monsoon, from June 1 to September 30 last year, the state overall had a deficit of 8 per cent, but south-interior Karnataka received 4 per cent excess. During the northeast monsoon, from October 1 to December 30 last year, the state had 88 per cent excess rainfall, the highest in 60 years. South-interior Karnataka received 140 per cent excess.
“Due to good rain since 2018, we have been releasing excess Cauvery water in advance to Tamil Nadu. In the June 2020-May 2021 water year too, the state released 211.34 tmcft of water, which was 34 tmcft excess. Between June 2019 and May 2020, the State had released 273 tmcft, which was 95.75 tmcft excess.
All the four reservoirs in the Cauvery basin, including Harangi, Hemavathi, KRS and Kabini, can hold 104 tmcft of live storage and 114 tmcft of gross storage. If there is a balancing reservoir at Mekedatu, we can store 67 tmcft. The Tribunal has set a month-wise allocation of water to be released to Tamil Nadu. But at times, when we do not get adequate rain, we can release it from Mekedatu,” he reasoned.