No scarcity of water till monsoon arrives

By Shyam Sundar Vattam | NT

Mysuru: There is good news for citizens of Bengaluru and Mysuru. They may not face a drinking water crisis till the end of summer as dams in the Cauvery basin have enough water for the next 60 days.

This is because of the unseasonal rains which lashed several districts in the catchment areas last year. This increased the storage level in the Cauvery basin dams. Officials of Cauvery Niravari Nigam Limited affirmed that there is sufficient water for both drinking and irrigation purposes. Water can be supplied from both KRS and Kabini dams for the next two months, they informed.

Whenever the monsoon plays truant, water supply to Bengaluru, Mysuru, Mandya and Ramanagar districts has been affected. In some years, the water level had gone down so much that the authorities were forced to draw water from the dead storage of KRS dam and had also resorted to staggered supply to maintain the balance between demand and supply. Now with sufficient water in all three dams, KRS, Kabini and Harangi, they are heaving a sigh of relief.

The inflow of water into the dams has also increased following rains in the last one week. The water level at KRS dam stood at 99.6 feet on Thursday and is likely to go up due to daily rain. In fact, there has been continuous rain in Kodagu district and this has ensured a steady inflow of water into the dam. Water has been released in the canal to help farmers protect the standing crops of paddy and sugarcane in Mysuru and Mandya districts.

Officials are hoping for the arrival of the monsoon in the first or second week of June. Once the monsoon hits the catchment areas of Kabini and KRS, there would be no problem of drinking water.