The level has now dropped by nearly 10 feet as the state continues to release water into the river to flow to Tamil Nadu.
Mysuru : The water level in Kabini reservoir in HD Kote taluk in Mysuru — one of the important dams in the Cauvery basin — has fallen sharply after the dam reached full capacity earlier this month.
At 8am on Aug 1, the water level at the dam was 2,280.08 feet against the maximum of 2,284 feet, according to data by dam authorities. The inflow was 11,747 cusecs, while outflow was 500 cusecs. However, the outflow was increased to 12,000 cusecs in the night as the inflow increased to 19,037 cusecs and the water level neared the max level. On Aug 2 at 8 am, the inflow reached 23,009 cusecs following heavy rainfall in the catchment areas in Wayanad district in the neighbouring state of Kerala. The outflow was subsequently increased to 25,000 cusecs in the night. On Aug 3, outflow increased to 27,000 cusecs with the inflow touching 31,746 cusecs. But after Aug 5, both inflow and outflow started to dip with the rain intensity coming down. As of Sunday, Aug 30, the water level fell to 2271.32 feet while the inflow was just 4,961 cusecs while outflow was 6,600 cusecs.
Even when the inflow was heavy, water was not released to any of the canals or to lakes to recharge the groundwater, according to farmers. You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Bengaluru | Silver Rate in Bengaluru | Bank Holidays in Bengaluru | Public Holidays in Bengaluru | Bengaluru AQI | Weather in Bengaluru | Petrol Price in Bengaluru | Diesel Price in Bengaluru | CNG Price in Bengaluru | LPG Price in Bengaluru Stay updated with the latest Bengaluru news.
“The state govt and officers committed a mistake,” said Badagalapura Nagendra, president of Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha. “Instead of releasing water to canals and fill the lakes and tanks, the water was released to the river,” he alleged. “We are holding a protest in the dam site on Monday to demand at least remaining water to the farmers,” he said.
The sharp decline has come as a concern for farmers, who were hoping to rely on the dam for their crops, particularly as the agricultural season progresses. This was the highest inflow recorded by the dam this year. Now, with the command areas recording a dry spell, the farmers are facing an acute water crisis. Download the TOI App.
They decided to hold a protest on Monday against the water release.