Monsoons bring cheer for industry, despair for people in Chhattisgarh

While tanks for storing drinking water contain only 30 per cent of storage capacity, those providing water to industry are well stocked

The good rainfall that Chhattisgarh has witnessed during the past fortnight has brought respite for the industry and worry for the denizens.

The storage tanks that supply drinking water are still empty while those providing water to the industry are comfortably stocked. Chhattisgarh dams levels rose to 50 per cent to overall capacity on Sunday, as streams and rivers carrying with rain flowed into the storage dams.

During the corresponding period last year, dams were filled up to 57 per cent of capacity despite 96 of the 149 tehsils in the state having been declared as drought-hit due to poor rainfall.

“It is a matter of concern that despite the good rainfall, many important reservoirs in the state have not been adequately filled,” a water resources department spokesperson said. Department officials are in a fix as the reservoirs supplying drinking water to the state capital aren't filled even 30 per cent to capacity.

The state’s second largest dam, Ravishankar Sagar, with a capacity of 767 million cubic meters (m.cum) has been filled only to the extent of 28.37 per cent of total capacity. The dam supplies water to Maroda reservoir from where Bhilai Steel Plant (BSP), a Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) concern, gets water.

The dam also caters the drinking water requirement of the capital city, Raipur, which was facing a severe crisis this summer. “We are hopeful that good rains would occur in the catchment areas and flow water into the dam,” the spokesperson said.

The water level in Chhattisgarh’s biggest dam, Minimata Bango, has increased to 66.12 per cent to its capacity of 2894 m.cum. It is the lifeline for industries located in the mineral rich state.

The Minimata Bango dam feeds the industries located in Korba and Raigarh, the major industrial towns in the state.