At last, water level in Cauvery basin dams starts rising after heavy rain; Kabini Dam likely to reach brim

Shyam Sundar Vattam | NT

Bengaluru: The incumbent Congress government in the State which was worried over the delay in the monsoon, can now heave a sigh of relief with the monsoon picking up after nearly one and a half months pushing up the water level in all dams in the Cauvery river basin.

The monsoon which was supposed to start in June first week, was delayed after a couple of cyclones upset the cycle of rain. It is now raining heavily across the state, except in some districts with all four dams in the Cauvery Basin - Krishna Raja Sagar in Srirangapatna taluk of Mandya, Kabini Dam in H.D.Kote Taluk of Mysuru District, Harangi in Kodagu District, and Hemavathi in Hassan district recording good inflow of water.

The water level at Kabini Dam stood at 2279.30 ft (Maximum 2284 ft) with an inflow of 21,600 cusecs and an outflow of 10,000 cusecs. The KRS Dam witnessed an inflow of 29,552 cusecs of water and the outflow remained at 5297 cusecs.

The water level had crossed 96 feet against the maximum level of 124.80 ft. The water has been released into the river and the canal to help farmers save the standing crop.In the last 24 hours, the inflow of water into the dams in the Cauvery basin is 67,278 cusecs and the outflow is 8630 cusecs.

Meanwhile, an official press release from Cauvery Niravari Nigam Limited said the inflow into Kabini reservoir has increased to 20,000 cusecs due to rain in the Kerala basin. So, 10,000 cusecs has been released from Kabini Reservoir which however will not lead to submergence of areas downstream.

There is not likely to be a drinking water scarcity in Bengaluru, Mysuru, Mandya, and Ramanagar districts this year due to a steady increase in water storage levels.

Once the dams fill to the brim, the total storage will be around 40 TMC ft water which is sufficient to meet the drinking water requirements in cities. Any excess water inflow into the dam, after the maximum level is achieved, would be released to Tamil Nadu as per the quota fixed by the Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal.

Meanwhile, the district administration of Kodagu declared a holiday for all schools and colleges till Tuesday after heavy rain accompanied by gusty winds. Deputy Commissioner Venkatraj said the rain has created havoc in several parts of the district.

The rainwater has entered Bangadeshwara Temple and Bagamandala-Napoklu Road is under water. Only heavy vehicles are allowed to move on the road.