Water level in 91 reservoirs rises to 67 pc

New Delhi, Sep 2: Water level in 91 major reservoirs in the country has increased to 67 per cent of their total capacity from 65 per cent last week, the government said today.

According to Union Water Resources Ministry, 105.248 billion cubic metre (BCM) of water was available in these reservoirs for the week ending on September 1. The stock is in excess of levels reported during corresponding period last year by 14 per cent, while it is 99 per cent of the average of storage in last 10 years.

The total capacity of these reservoirs is 157.799 BCM. Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Tripura, Uttarakhand and Tamil Nadu have reported lower levels of water in their respective major reservoirs compared to last year.

Kerala reservoirs are at the same level as last year. Punjab, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Odisha, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Karnataka have reported better storage vis-a-vis last year.

The estimated water storage capacity of all reservoirs in the country is 253.388 BCM. Thirty-seven of the major reservoirs have hydropower benefit with installed capacity of more than 60 MW.

PTI