Water in six major reservoirs in north India below 10 years’ average

Indicating possible water shortage in some states of the country, a report of the Central Water Commission (CWC) has revealed the total live storage available in six major water reservoirs of Northern States have gone down below the ten years’ average. The report also revealed that the live water storage in 91 major reservoirs of the country has gone down marginally by two per cent.

“The live storage available in the six reservoirs of Northern States (Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Rajasthan) is 53 per cent of total live storage capacity of these reservoirs. The average storage of last ten years during corresponding period was 62 per cent of live storage capacity,” said a statement from Union Ministry of Water Resources on Tuesday. “The storage is also less than previous year’s 61 per cent,” added the statement. According to the report, the total capacity of the six reservoirs is around 18 BCM. The report gives the assessment about water availability as per data available till December 15.

In the 31 major water reservoirs falling in Southern States of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, percentage of total live storage is less than the previous year. “The total live storage available in these reservoirs is around 20 BCM which is 38 per cent. In 2015, it was 34 per cent for the same duration,” said the report. However, the current live storage is better than the ten years’ average for the corresponding period. 

The states which have better water storage than the last year for corresponding period are Punjab, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, AP&TG (Two combined projects in both states), Telangana and Karnataka. State having equal storage as last year for corresponding period is Uttarakhand. States having lesser storage than last year for corresponding period are Himachal Pradesh, Tripura, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.