Water levels in the reservoirs in Bengaluru have reached alarmingly low levels, despite the city receiving a few showers last month. The water levels in these dams will go up only during the monsoon, until then Bengalurians have to use water judiciously.
It is not new that the Krishna Raja Sagar (KRS) dam, which meets the drinking water requirements of Bengaluru, Mysuru, Mandya and parts of Ramanagara has already hit the dead storage level.
As on Wednesday, the water level in the dam was just 71.92 ft, while the dead storage level is 74 ft.
Storage in 12 other reservoirs across the state has gone down and are close to reaching dead storage levels.
According to data by the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC), the inflow of water in the Almatti Dam is zero.
The Narayanpur reservoir, which is located in North Karnataka across Krishna River, and the Almatti dam, has seen many dead crocodiles due to low water levels, the Times of India reported.
As the water levels goes down, crocodiles bury themselves in the mud and get trapped there. Although they can live without food and use their fat reserves for months, overheating and perhaps drying out of soil that trapped them, which has led to the deaths, the report adds.
According to KSDNMC, 13 dams across Karnataka have absolutely no water or less than 5% of live storage capacity. “Most of the water available is being drawn out and many dams have hit dead storage and water cannot be drawn from the dead storage or the dams will collapse,” said GS Srinivasa Reddy, Director of KSNDMC.
The Irrigation Department is hoping for the south-west monsoon to arrive on time and ensure that sufficient rains will rejuvenate all the reservoirs at the earliest to avert major crisis, the TOI report adds.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted a normal monsoon this year. “Even if the monsoons are late by 20-25 days, there will be a major crisis in the state as the water available will be sufficient for not more than 50 days,” Reddy said.
Water Resources Minister M B Patil had recently said that the water in KRS could be utilised till mid-June but has also said, “I hope the water will last till June 10 and hope that by then the monsoon would arrive,'' he added.
The state has witnessed six consecutive drought, and the government is planning to go ahead with the cloud seeding plan. Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister H K Patil said that the government has decided to try cloud seeding due to depleting water levels in the reservoirs.