Only 15%water left in major reservoirs, west, south worst hit

The water storage available in 91 major reservoirs of the country for the week ending on June 23 was 23.20 billion cubic metre (BCM), or just 15 per cent of total storage capacity of 157.80 BCM, official data showed.

The worst affected are the western and southern regions with only nine percent each of the total storage capacity of water left in a total of 58 reservoirs in these regions.

Of these 91 reservoirs, 37 have hydro-power capacity of more than 60 MW, the Water Resources Ministry said on Friday.

The western region (Gujarat and Maharashtra) has 27 reservoirs with a total storage capacity of 27.07 BCM, but the total live storage available is 2.49 BCM, which is nine per cent of the total capacity.

The storage during corresponding period of last year was 21 per cent, according to official figures.

The southern region (Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu) has 31 reservoirs with total storage capacity of 51.59 BCM, but only total live storage of 4.88 BCM, which is also nine per cent of the total capacity. The storage during corresponding period of last year was 23 per cent.

In the eastern region (Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal and Tripura), there are 15 reservoirs with a total storage capacity of 18.83 BCM, and the total live storage available is 3.07 BCM which is 16 per cent of the total capacity. The storage during corresponding period of last year was 28 per cent.

The central region (Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh) has 12 reservoirs with total storage capacity of 42.30 BCM, while the total live storage is 8.52 BCM or 20 per cent of total capacity. The storage during corresponding period of last year was 29 per cent.

In the northern region (Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Rajasthan), there are six reservoirs having total storage capacity of 18.01 BCM, and the total live storage available is 4.25 BCM or 24 per cent. The storage during corresponding period of last year was 42 per cent, the ministry said.

--IANS

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