Kerala has been witnessing the worst drought in 115 years. The state government had declared Kerala a drought-hit state in October last year after the initial monsoon failure.
With rains being 33.7% deficient from July to September 2016, the state has been mulling the possibility of generating artificial rain in the state. Now that summer has arrived, water levels of major hydroelectric and irrigation dams across the state have been majorly impacted.
Overall water levels as on April 17, in 20 irrigation dams, is down by 44.86% compared to the volumes of last year, as per the Irrigation Department and the KSEB. Total storage of the KSEB dams is the lowest in the last four years, reports The New Indian Express. The KSEB dams had water only up till 23% capacity on April 19.
Meanwhile, total storage in the irrigation dams, which stood at 741.48mm3 in 2016, has dipped to an alarming 408.86 mm3 this year. An 11-member Central team is touring the state now to assess the drought situation and to finalise a disaster mitigation package.
The team, led by Joint Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Ashwani Kumar, will meet chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday. While one group will visit drought-hit districts to assess the shortage of drinking water, the other group will assess damage to crops.