Levels in reservoirs in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh increased again this week even as the storage in India’s 155 major reservoirs dropped to 79 per cent of the capacity, data from the Central Water Commission (CWC) showed.

A major reason for the rise in reservoir level in these southern States was that 64 per cent of the 720 districts in the country received deficient post-monsoon rainfall from October 1 to December 12, per data from the India Meteorological Department (IMD). 

Favourable for rabi crops

CWC’s weekly data on the storage status of the 155 major reservoirs showed that the level was  142.354 billion cubic metres (BCM) against the 180.852 BCM capacity. The level is higher than last year and the last 10 years storage (normal). 

The reservoir level is conducive for rabi crops but predictions of below-normal rainfall during winter could be a cause for concern. Rabi sowing of all crops is up 1.5 per cent year-on-year. 

Though the number of reservoirs full dropped to 15 from 18 last week, those with levels below 50 per cent decreased to 18 from 20. 

The level in 43 reservoirs of the southern region dropped to 82 per cent of the 54.634 BCM capacity at 44.660 BCM. But the storage in Tamil Nadu increased to 92 per cent and in Andhra Pradesh to 83 per cent. Telangana continued to boast a level of 99 per cent, while it was 83 per cent and 74 per cent in Karnataka and Kerala, respectively. 

In the 11 reservoirs of the northern region, the level was 52 per cent of the  19.836 BCM capacity at 10.306 BCM. The storage in Himachal was 45 per cent, in Punjab 25 per cent and 82 per cent in Rajasthan. 

Level in South may rise

Of the 25 reservoirs in the eastern region, the level was 14.759 BCM or 71 per cent of the  20.798 BCM capacity. Tripura (88 per cent), Jharkand (76 per cent) and West Bengal (75 per cent) had good storage but in Bihar and Nagaland, it was 34 per cent and 55 per cent, respectively.

In the western region, the 50 reservoirs were filled to 90 per cent of the  37.357 BCM capacity at 33.486 BCM. Goa storage was full, while it was 86 per cent and 93 per cent in Gujarat and Maharashtra, respectively.

The level in the 26 reservoirs in the central region was 81 per cent of the 48.227 BCM capacity at 39.143 BCM. Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh had over 80 per cent storage, while it was 65 per cent and 68 per cent in Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh, respectively. 

The water level will likely rise in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh as they are experiencing heavy rains currently.