Water levels in dams higher than last year

NEW DELHI: India’s important reservoirs had water up to 41 per cent of their capacity, higher than a year earlier and better than the 10-year average, according to data from the Central Water Commission.

The 91 key reservoirs held 64.55 billion cubic metres (bcm) of water as of March 2, about 32 per cent more than a year earlier and 2 per cent higher than the 10-year average of 63.12 bcm.

These reservoirs have a combined capacity of 157.79 bcm.

According to the data released on Thursday by the Commission, water levels in reservoirs were less in southern India, particularly Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Karnataka. In Uttrakhand and Himachal Pradesh too the water levels were less than the normal storage.

Higher water levels in the reservoirs improve the prospects of kharif planting crops and generating electricity.

The basins of the Narmada, Ganga, Mahi, Sabarmati, Godavari, Tapi, Mahanadi and the east-flowing rivers of southern India recorded better water levels than the previous year, it said.

Further, the Indus, rivers of Kutch, west flowing rivers of South and Krishna basins had deficient storage levels

The situation was “highly deficient” in the Cauvery & neighbouring eastern flowing rivers basin, said the data.