JEYPORE: Farmers of Koraput are a happy lot, with the water level in Upper Kolab dam witnessing a rise on Thursday, September 30, 2021, due to incessant rainfall in the upper catchment areas for four days now. A week back, the water level in the reservoir stood at 850.17 meter with live storage at 30.95 per cent, around 10 per cent less than the figures of last year during the same time.
With fresh inflow, the water level now stands at 851.40 metre with storage level at 51.24 meter, bringing a sigh of relief to farmers and government agencies who plan irrigation facilities to the ayacut areas depending on the water level in the reservoir. Earlier, the drop in water level in the reservoir had cast a shadow on the ensuing kharif season.
However, cumulative rainfall of around 330 mm in the last week of September in the catchment areas comprising Koraput, Semiliguda and Nandapur blocks led to increase in the water level. Additional Chief Engineer CS Mishra said with more rains expected in the coming days, the reservoir level will show a significant rise and facilitate both power and irrigation for the upcoming rabi season.
About 42,500 hectare land is irrigated through Upper Kolab project during kharif and 25,000 hectare during rabi season every year besides generating 320 MW power in the peak season.