Serious water crisis in South India, only 17% water left in reservoirs - CWC report
In the bulletin issued by CWC on Thursday regarding the storage level of reservoirs in various regions of India, it was told that there are 42 reservoirs under the monitoring of the Commission in the southern region, whose total storage capacity is 53.334 BCM (Billion Cubic Meters).
With the onset of summer, South India is facing serious water crisis. Only 17 percent of the capacity of water storage reservoirs in the area remains. This information was received from a bulletin of the Central Water Commission (CWC). The southern region includes the states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. In the bulletin issued by CWC on Thursday regarding the storage level of reservoirs in various regions of India, it was told that there are 42 reservoirs under the monitoring of the Commission in the southern region, whose total storage capacity is 53.334 BCM (Billion Cubic Meters).
According to the latest report, the current total storage in these reservoirs is 8.865 BCM, which is only 17 percent of their total capacity. This figure is less than the storage level during the same period last year (29 percent) and the ten-year average of the same period ( Much less than 23 percent). The low storage levels in the reservoirs of the southern region are indicative of increasing water scarcity in these states and potential challenges for irrigation, drinking water and hydropower.
In contrast, the eastern region, which includes states like Assam, Odisha and West Bengal, has recorded a positive improvement in water storage levels compared to last year and the ten-year average. The commission said that in the region, 23 monitoring reservoirs with a total storage capacity of 20.430 BCM currently have 7.889 BCM of water, which is 39 percent of their total capacity. This marks an improvement compared to the same period last year (34 percent) and the ten-year average (34 percent).
The western region includes Gujarat and Maharashtra and the storage level there is 11.771 BCM which is 31.7 per cent of the total capacity of 49 monitoring reservoirs. This is lower than last year's storage level (38 percent) and the ten-year average (32.1 percent). Similarly, a decline in water storage levels has also been observed in the northern and central regions.