Karnataka govt. tells people to use it judiciously, says rationing is an option
Sounding an alert on an imminent water crisis in Karnataka in the coming days, Water Resources Minister M.B. Patil on Monday said there was just enough water in the reservoirs to meet the drinking water needs till June 15. Karnataka was not in a position to release Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu now, he added.
Addressing the media after a review of water levels in the State’s reservoirs, the Minister appealed to farmers to voluntarily stop using irrigation pump-sets as “the State cannot afford water for the second crop.” He also appealed to people to use water judiciously. He said his department would coordinate with other departments and the district administration to ensure there was efficient use of available water.
If necessary, the Bengaluru Water Supply and Sewage Board, the Karnataka Urban Water Supply and Drainage Board and the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Department could resort to water-rationing so that the available water could be used for a longer period, he said.
The State had requested Maharashtra to release two tmc ft water from Krishna river. “We have been buying water from Maharashtra every year for villages in Belagavi district. However, this year Maharashtra has said it will release water only after we release 1.2 tmc ft from the Indi Branch Canal to Sholapur. We will be able to release it only after May,” he said.
Mr. Patil said he had requested Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to speak to Devendra Fadnavis, his counterpart in Maharashtra, in this regard. A team of senior officials would visit Maharashtra soon.
Dead storage
The Krishna Raja Sagar reservoir, meanwhile, is inching towards the dead storage level. The major drinking water source for Bengaluru has shrunk into a lake owing to the failure of monsoon in the last three years. The water level was just 75.24 ft. at 6 a.m. on Monday as against the level of 81.39 ft. on the corresponding day last year. While the maximum capacity of the reservoir is 124.80 ft., the ‘dead storage’ level is 74 ft.
Officials said the reservoir would reach dead storage in eight days if the outflow was not reduced.
