TN farmers prepare for a long summer as KRS water level dips further

Tamil Nadu, Apr 12: The water situation at the Krishnaraja Sagar reservoir is not looking good. If there is no rain the catchment area by the end of the month, the situation could worsen say officials at the reservoir.

This situation is not only affecting Karnataka, but Tamil Nadu as well which relies on the release of water from the reservoir.

The current level at the KRS is at 11 TMCft. However only 3 TMCft can be used for irrigation purposes since 4.5 TMCft is for drinking water at Bengaluru, Mysore and Mandya while another 4.5TMCft is considered as dead storgage.

Only rains can save the day:

KRS officials say that the quantum of water that is being released to Tamil Nadu has come down. This will affect those farmers in Tamil Nadu living in the downstream of the Cauvery river area.

The shortage of water has led to the officials stalling the release of water into the canals two weeks back.

Karnataka and Tamil Nadu have been locked in a legal battle for several years over the release of Cauvery water. As per the arrangement, Karnataka would need to release a total of 192 TMCft of water at Biligundulu.

However this is the quantum in a normal year when the monsoon is good. The quantum of water is delivered in monthly deliveries.

However in the drought years the quantum is reduced. Owing to two consecutive drought years, Karnataka has been able to release only a reduced quantum. This year the release to Tamil Nadu has been around 120 TMCft only.

OneIndia News