BENGALURU: Will it be another long and dry summer next year? With the monsoon playing truant, reservoirs across the state have seen below average storage. The Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC) has set the alarm bells ringing saying that the storage levels are just half of what they should be by July-end.
The average of last 42 years shows that the storage at four Cauvery dams – KRS, Hemavathi, Harangi and Kabini – should be 120 tmcft by July-end. But as on July 25, it was only 51 tmcft, a deficiency of 55%, said KSNDMC director G.S. Srinivasa Reddy. The forecast too is not encouraging as weather models do not show any spells of good rain over the state for the next 10 days, he lamented.
Over the past two years, because of drought and failure of monsoon, water was not released for agriculture. If there is a shortage this year too, it will have a serious impact on agricultural production in the region, which depends on Cauvery for irrigation, Mr Reddy said.
In south-interior Karnataka, the rain was much better last year, but the region was still declared drought-hit, he pointed out. "Total rainfall deficit in the state might have come down from 23 per cent to 19 per cent. Rains in north-interior Karnataka and coastal regions are faring little better. Heavy rains in Malnad region in the last week was one small respite. But the rainfall and dam levels in the south-interior parts of the state remain grim," he said.
Total rainfall deficit in south-interior Karnataka stands at 42 per cent. The condition in regions facing acute shortage, like Mandya (63 per cent deficit), Chamarajanagar (59), Mysuru (49) and Ramanagara (48), is worrying, as by now sowing should have started, Mr Reddy explained.
With no indicators pointing towards a pick-up in the prevailing weak monsoon, farmer community will be the worst affected, he said. Around 30 tmcft of water is needed in all four Cauvery dams to take care of drink water needs of the city till next June.
