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After 47 years, water level hits rock bottom at KRS

Last Updated 26 September 2016, 19:40 IST

The Krishnaraja Sagar dam now resembles more of a rocky terrain in the dry districts of north Karnataka rather than a reservoir. The present storage of water that could be utilised is 10.2 tmcft against a total storage of 49.45 tmcft. The depletion in the water level has exposed the terrain on the rock bottom of the reservoir.

According to sources in the Water Resources department, this is the first time since 1969 that expanses of the terrain especially on the eastern and western side of the reservoir have become visible. Lack of rains during the south-west monsoon has led to the present situation.

Interacting with reporters who visited the reservoir on Monday, Chief Engineer, Irrigation (South Zone), B Shivashankar, said that two tmcft of water was required per month to meet the drinking water need of Mysuru, Bengaluru and other towns as well as the villages in the Cauvery basin.

Preserving the water to meet the drinking need till May next is certainly a tough task. The nearly empty reservoir would have gone bone dry had water release to Tamil Nadu continued, official sources said.

The state government has stopped release of water to the neighbouring state since September 23. The Supreme Court had ordered that the water be released till September 27.

If the available water is not conserved, it is going to be tough even to get drinking water in the basin area.

The inflow into the KRS is just 1,185 cusecs/day, while the outflow is 220 cusecs.

The KRS reservoir premises on Monday resembled a fortress on the eve of the Supreme Court taking up a petition submitted by the state government seeking modification of its September 20 order.  Personnel from the state police, Rapid Action Force and also para-military force have been deployed outside the reservoir.

The police are geared up to handle one lakh people at a time in case they try to barge into this high-security area to protest against further release of water.
 

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(Published 26 September 2016, 19:40 IST)

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