Not Just Bengaluru, Entire South India Staring At Water Crisis This Summer As Dipping Reservoir Stores Raise Alarm

Some large dams such as the Tungabhadra in Karnataka and the Nagarjuna Sagar on the Andhra Pradesh-Telangana border are filled to 5% or less of their full capacity. (Representative image)

Bengaluru has been grappling with a major water crisis for over a month amid soaring temperatures and no rain. Now, the latest weekly bulletin by the Central Water Commission has suggested several parts of South India will face water shortage this summer as major dams in the region have dangerously low water levels, reported The Hindu.

The latest study revealed that major reservoirs in the southern states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana are filled to only 25% of their capacity or less.

Some large dams such as the Tungabhadra in Karnataka and the Nagarjuna Sagar on the Andhra Pradesh-Telangana border are filled to 5% or less of their full capacity. Other large dams such as Mettur in Tamil Nadu and Srisailam on the Andhra Pradesh-Telangana border are also filled to less than 30% of their capacity.

Across India, the current water level in 150 primary reservoirs put together as a share of their total capacity stood at 38%, the weekly bulletin stated.

All the reservoirs in the South put together are filled to only 23% of their capacity in this region, which is about 17% points lower than the levels recorded last year and 9 points lower than the 10-year average. No other region — central, west, east, or north — shows such a drastic difference in levels compared to last year as well as the 10-year average.

Among the southern states, a comparison of the capacities of individual reservoirs with their current storage shows that water levels in many are dangerously low.

Karnataka dam data

The Linganamakki reservoir in Karnataka’s Shivamogga district, with a total capacity of 4.3 lakh crore litres of water, is currently filled to just 22%. The Supa reservoir in Karnataka’s Uttara Kannada district, with a total capacity of 4.1 lakh crore litres, is filled to only 36%. The Tungabhadra dam in Vijayanagara district of Karnataka, with a total capacity of 3.2 lakh crore litres, is filled to only 5%.

Andhra Pradesh and Telangana

The Srisailam reservoir on the Andhra Pradesh-Telangana border, with a capacity of 6 lakh crore litres, is filled to only 15%, whereas the Nagarjuna Sagar dam on the same border, with a capacity of 5.1 lakh crore litres, is filled to a mere 4%.

Tamil Nadu

The Mettur dam in Salem district of Tamil Nadu, with a full capacity of 2.65 lakh crore litres, is filled to 28%.

Kerala

Kerala is the only exception among the southern States, with most of its major dams filled to at least 50% of their capacities, as shown in Chart 5. The Idukki reservoir is filled to 47%, the Idamalayar dam to 48%, and the Kallada and Kakki reservoirs to 50%.