The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Good inflow into Karnataka reservoirs

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jun 15, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Good inflow into Karnataka reservoirs

By S.Vydhianathan

CHENNAI, JUNE 14. Following heavy rain in the catchment areas of Cauvery, all reservoirs in Karnataka have been receiving good inflow for the past three days.

While the Kabini reservoir and the Krishnaraja Sagar (KRS) are getting 16,000 and 11,000 cusecs, Harangi and Hemavathi, whose surpluses will improve the KRS inflow, are receiving 2700 and 9000 cusecs.

Heavy receipts have increased the storage in the reservoirs. Their combined storage improved to 34 thousand million cubic feet up from 23.9 tmcft (thousand million cubic feet) three days ago. Their combined capacity is 114.5 tmcft.

Official sources here said that the increase in Kabini Dam's storage was encouraging, as the surplus from the dam would reach the Mettur reservoir directly. The storage in the Kabini was 9.7 tmcft as against the capacity of 19.5 tmcft. Normally Karnataka officials do not allow the storage in Kabini to cross 17 tmcft, to avoid flooding downstream.

But the good inflow in the Karnataka reservoirs is not reflected in receipts in Mettur. Today's inflow was a meagre 1392 cusecs and the storage was 11 tmcft as against the total capacity of 93.47 tmcft.

Water managers here feel the government should not succumb to pressures from delta farmers or political parties in opening the reservoir for irrigation. They should build a storage in the reservoir for ensuring adequate supply to the farmers, they said.

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