BSY to offer bagina at KRS dam for record 5th time

Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa offers bagina to Krishnaraja Sagar (KRS) dam, across River Cauvery, for a record fifth time. He is the second CM from Mandya district, besides S M Krishna. Even though Krishna completed a full five-year term, he could not offer bagina during three years, due to drought.

Yediyurappa will offer puja to the idol of Goddess Cauvery and offer bagina to KRS dam at 12.05 pm on Friday in Srirangapatna taluk of Mandya district. Later, he will offer bagina to Kabini dam across Kapila river at 1.15 pm in HD Kote taluk of Mysuru district. At both places, farmers and other activists have announced of holding black flag protests, against the policies of the state government.

The practice of offering bagina to KRS dam was started by the late chief minister D Devaraja Urs, in 1979. The others, who have offered bagina in KRS dam as chief ministers, are: R Gundu Rao, S Bangarappa and H D Kumaraswamy, thrice; Ramakrishna Hegde, M Veerappa Moily, S M Krishna, N Dharam Singh and Siddaramaiah, twice; Veerendra Patil, H D Deve Gowda, J H Patel and D V Sadananda Gowda, once. P Venkatasubbaiah also offered bagina at KRS Dam once, in 1988, as Governor.

Earlier, Yediyurappa had offered bagina to KRS dam in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2019. This year, the dam reached its brim on August 16. It was a practise to offer bagina on the same day or the next day, when the dam reaches its full capacity. Since 2019, a delay is seen. In a diversion from the norm, in 2014, then CM Siddaramaiah offered bagina, a day before the dam reached its full capacity, on August 6, when the water was 124 feet, against the maximum level of 124.80 feet.

Since the past three years, due to copious rain during monsoon, in Kodagu and Hassan districts, both Cauvery and Hemavathi rivers are flowing in full glory, filling the dam to the brim by July or August. The water level, which was 105.95 feet, against the maximum level of 124.80 feet, filled to the brim on August 16, in just a fortnight.

Since 2008, the dam has reached its full capacity eight times — in 2008 (August 15), 2009 (July 24), 2013 (August 1), 2014 (August 7), 2018 (July 20 and October 7), 2019 (August 15) and 2020 (August 16). The year 2016 was the worst, with the maximum level reached was 99.65 feet on July 28. Besides, in the years 2010 and 2011, the dam crossed the 124 feet level, but did not touch the 124.80 feet mark.

On Thursday, as on 9 am, water level in the KRS dam was 123.90 feet. As the inflow into the dam reduced to 14,862 cusec, the outflow was reduced to 5,260 cusec, to reach full capacity by the time the bagina is offered.