Karnataka - Mysore   

KRS reservoir remains full for three consecutive months

Staff Correspondent

Water-level has remained at the maximum of 124.8 feet since it filled up on August 8

FULL TO THE BRIM: A good monsoon has filled up the Krishnaraja Sagar reservoir. — PHOTO: M.A.SRIRAM

MYSORE: Probably for the first time in its history, the water-level in the Krishnaraja Sagar reservoir built across river Cauvery near here has remained at the maximum level for more than three months at a stretch.

Executive Engineer of KRS reservoir Vijaykumar told The Hindu that the water-level in the dam has remained at the maximum of 124.8 feet ever since it filled up to the brim on August 8 when Chief Minister N. Dharam Singh offered "bagina" at the dam site.

Copious rain in the catchment area of the Cauvery in Kodagu since the onset of the monsoon this year has ensured a constant inflow into the reservoir. The heavy inflow into the reservoir has forced Irrigation Department authorities to release water into the river.

Irrigation Department officials said that the situation is likely to continue till November 16. If the good inflow continues, the reservoir would have had maintained the maximum level for a record 100 days. "At full reservoir level, live storage of water will be 49.45 tmc," an official said.

Since the onset of the monsoon in June this year, a total of 98 tmcft of water has been released from the reservoir into the river.

An equal amount, if not more, may have also been passed from the Kabini reservoir in H.D. Kote in Mysore district, irrigation officials said.

"Not just the KRS, almost all dams in the State including the Kabini reservoir, have remained full for quite some time now," officials said. Water released from the KRS and Kabini reservoirs find their way to the Mettur Dam in Tamil Nadu.

"The Mettur reservoir in Tamil Nadu not only reached its maximum level for the first time in the last several years, but was also overflowing causing flooding of several low lying areas," officials said.

The inflow into the KRS reservoir has reached a staggering 1.17 lakh cusecs in August, when the authorities were forced to open all crest gates of the reservoir to release water into the river.

The third highest discharge of 1.25 lakh cusecs from the KRS reservoir was recorded in August, officials said. The highest discharge from the KRS reservoir was recorded in 1961 when a whopping 2.61 lakh cusecs of water was let out into the river.

"The second highest discharge of 2.15 lakh cusecs was recorded in 1993," an official said.

The heavy discharge from the KRS reservoir this year caused flooding of the Ranganathittu bird sanctuary twice this monsoon. So heavy was the inflow, that the bridge over the Cauvery at Srirangapatna, near here was submerged in October.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Master plan for zoo to be ready by February 2006
KRS reservoir remains full for three consecutive months
LPG scarcity continues in Mysore, angry residents mob outlet in Halladakeri
Son et lumiere to begin at Mysore palace in December
Elegant temple dedicated to Lord Shiva and his consort
VTU to set up training centre for automobile engineers
Security guard found dead at Yadavagiri
Globalisation has not affected Kannada, says Karnad

Copyright © 2005, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu