New Delhi: As summer approaches, data reveals that the live storage capacity of India’s 150 main reservoirs is currently at a mere 38 per cent of their total capacity. The figure is lower than the average of the past decade for the same time period.
Bengaluru, among other cities, is already facing a water deficit of approximately 500 million litres per day (MLD), with the city’s demand being 2,600 MLD.
According to the Central Water Commission’s weekly report, Karnataka and several other states have recorded lower storage levels compared to the same period last year.
In Bengaluru, out of 14,000 borewells, 6,900 have dried up. The city’s water bodies are either encroached or have dried up. The city’s water requirement is 2,600 MLD, of which 1,470 MLD is sourced from the Cauvery River and 650 MLD from borewells, as stated by Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah.
Other states, including Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Tripura, Rajasthan, Bihar, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana (two combined projects in both states), and Tamil Nadu, have also reported lower storage levels compared to last year.
The total live storage capacity of these 150 reservoirs is 178.784 billion cubic metres (BCM), accounting for about 69.35 per cent of the country’s total live storage capacity estimated at 257.812 BCM, as per official data.
The reservoir storage bulletin on Thursday reported that the live storage available in these reservoirs is 67.591 BCM, which is 38 per cent of their total live storage capacity.
However, during the same period last year, the live storage available was 80.557 BCM, with a decade’s average of 72.396 BCM.
Therefore, the current live storage in these 150 reservoirs is 84 per cent of the storage during the same period last year and 93 per cent of the average storage over the past decade.
The bulletin stated: “The overall storage position in the country is lower than the corresponding period last year and also falls short of the average storage over the past ten years for the same period.”
The Southern region, which includes states like Andhra Pradesh, Telangana (two combined projects in both states), Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu, monitors 42 reservoirs with a total live storage capacity of 53.334 BCM.
As of the Reservoir Storage Bulletin dated 21.03.2024, the total live storage available in these reservoirs is 12.287 BCM, which is 23 per cent of their total live storage capacity.
This represents a decrease compared to the storage levels during the same period last year (39 per cent) and the average storage over the past ten years (32 per cent).
Thus, the current storage levels in the Southern region are lower than those observed during the same period last year and also fall below the average storage over the past ten years.