KRS dam clocks 100 ft; still counting

By NT Correspondent

Mysuru: After a gap of 14 years, Krishna Raja Sagar dam in Srirangapatna taluk of Mandya district, has breached the 100 feet mark in the month of May. With this, the reservoir, the lifeline of people of Bengaluru, Mysuru, Mandya, Ramanagar, has scripted history.

It was in May 2008 that the dam crossed the 100 feet mark as against the maximum of 124.80 feet thanks to copious rain in the catchment areas. Usually, the dam goes empty in May because of the huge demand for water during the summer months. There are times when dam authorities have gone beyond the ‘dead storage’ level to draw water.

This time, the dam had breached the 100-feet mark almost a month ahead of the monsoon which usually arrives in the first or second week of June. Many a time, the monsoon has been delayed by more than a month and KRS has reached the maximum level only in September-October. Now , the dam has hit 100 feet thanks to heavy rains in the Cauvery catchment areas leaving farmers of Mandya, Mysuru and Ramanagaram districts a happy lot.

On Monday, the water level was 100.02 ft.