Incessant rains in Karnataka has led to an increase in the water flow into the Krishnaraja Sagar (KRS) reservoir. On June 15, the water level was at 94.50 ft as against the full reservoir limit of 124.80 ft.
According to officials of the Kaveri Niravari Nigama, the reservoir saw an inflow of 28,096 cusecs and an outflow of 416 cusecs. On June 15, 2017, the inflow was a mere 1,135 cusecs, but there was an outflow of 529 cusecs.
Dr Shubha Avinash, a Project Scientist at the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre said, "This is the most it has been four years. Considering that it is not yet the end of the monsoon soon, it is expected that there will be enough water to cultivate crops."
The inflow into the KRS reservoir increased after rains in the catchment areas of the Cauvery and shot up after discharge from the Hemavathi reservoir.
“Generally, the state’s dams fill up around July end. If the rain continues like this, our dams may get filled up as early as June end, which is good news for both farmers and crores of people who depend on it for drinking water,” an official of the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Committee told Star of Mysore.
Following heavy rains in Wayanad, Kerala, the Kabini reservoir also saw a large inflow, after which 15,000 cusecs of water was released to Tamil Nadu. Authorities have issued a flood alert to those living in low-lying areas nearby.
According to the Hindu, the catchment and upstream areas near Srirangapatna in Mandya district also saw very heavy downpours.
Torrential rains in the coastal and southwestern districts of Karnataka crippled normal life as the southwest monsoon intensified, causing a flood-like situation in towns and villages across the region, said an official on Thursday.
Very heavy rainfall measuring up to 19 cm was received in some parts of Dakshina Kannada district, according to data from the Bengaluru centre of the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
Heavy rains are likely to continue over the next few days in the coastal, south and north districts of the state, the IMD said.
With IANS inputs