Most Karnataka dams full due to torrential rain

Torrential rains in many parts of Karnataka have resulted in many dams, including those across the river Cauvery, receiving copious inflows and some reaching their full level,a top official of the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre said on Tuesday.

"If you see the status (of dams), it can be easily said that this year the level in all of them is quitesatisfactory compared to that over the last 10 years,"director of Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC) Dr G S Srinivasa Reddy, told PTI.

Over the last fortnight, there has been heavy downpour in many parts of the state, especially in the Western Ghats, the originating point of many rivers in the state, he said. Dr Reddy said if the flow in the Cauvery remained the same for the next four or five days, the Krishna Raja Sagar (KRS) dam would attain its full level by the weekend.

He said the inflow into the Almatti dam across the Krishna river was 52,890 cusecs. "Because Almatti and Narayanapura are big dams, it will take time to get to the full level. But given the fact that there have been good rains in Maharashtra, the level in these dams may reach a satisfactory level," he said.

He said here were no major rain-related disasters this year despite heavy rainfall because people were informed in advance and authorities took steps tomitigate the challenge. "As of now, warning is not required because the intensity (of rain) has reduced. It (rain) has been heavy only in the ghat areas,where landslides may occur and damage roads," Reddy said.

As per data provided by KSNDMC, some of the dams which have reached full capacity are the Harangi, Hemavathi, Kabini, Tungabhadra, Almatti and Narayanapura. Dams such as KRS, Bhadra and Malaprabha are yet to fill up but there are good inflows, it said. The water level at the KRS dam across the Cauvery near Mysuru, which supplies water to Bengaluru, Mysuru and Mandya, is currently 112 feet against its full level of 124 feet.