Dams in Karnataka filled to the brim due to torrential rains

Bengaluru, NT Bureau: Most of the dams in Karnataka are filled to the brim, thanks to the torrential rains in the catchment areas of the major rivers for the past few days. The coastal and Malnad region in the Western Ghats have been receiving incessant rains for the past 15 days due to which many rivers originating from here are in spate.

According to the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC), the inflow of water in the Cauvery basin was 98,577 cusecs while the outflow was 70,645 cusecs. The KSNDMC said the cumulative outflow since June 1, was 118.25 thousand million cubic (TMC) feet, while the outflow was 41.52 TMC ft.

The Krishna Raja Sagar (KRS) dam with a reservoir level of 124 ft presently has 123.2 ft water.Other dams in the Cauvery basin namely Harangi, Hemavathi and Kabini are also filled to the brim.

The rains in the Cauvery basin have been received at a time when Karnataka was worried with the scanty rainfall and was gearing up for a legal battle with neighbouring Tamil Nadu.

The Cauvery Water Regulation Committee had directed Karnataka to release one TMC ft water to Tamil Nadu till July-end.

The Chief Minister convened an all-party meeting on July 14 saying that it will not be able to meet the direction and was preparing to approach the Cauvery Water Management Authority with a request that it will release 8,000 cusecs water and not 11,500 cusecs water, which is one TMC.