The Hindu : Raichur likely to face water shortage in May

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Mar 24, 2002

Southern States

Southern States - Karnataka

Raichur likely to face water shortage in May

By Our Staff Correspondent

Raichur March 23. The city is likely to face acute drinking water shortage from the third week of May following shortage of water in the Tungabhadra Left Bank Canal. Eighty per cent of the water supplied here is drawn from the canal.

Water is being supplied once a day from the Rampur Water Works near the 128th mile of the canal. The schedule will change because drawing of water from the canal was stopped on Friday.

According to official sources, the water level in the main reservoir at the water works is about 3.17 metres as against the full capacity of 4.5 metres, and that in the additional reservoir is about 3.1 metres as against the full capacity of four meters. The storage could have been augmented if there was enough water in the balancing reservoir at the 109th mile of the canal.

With the present storage, water can be supplied for about 45 days. The situation will worsen from May 20. The people in about 20 extensions surrounding the city take water from borewells and open wells. Owing to the depletion in groundwater, they have been experiencing shortage of water since last month. The city municipal council is supplying water in these areas with the help of tankers.

According to Irrigation Department sources, water supply in the canal is expected to be suspended on Monday or Tuesday because of the low storage in the Tungabhadra Reservoir.

The water level in the reservoir has now come down to 1,576 feet with the storage being 2.28 tmcft. The discharge in the canal has been reduced to 2,300 cusecs on Saturday as against the 3,050 cusecs on Friday. It will stop in two or three days.

Last year, water was released in the canal till April 24. Sources in the water discharge point at Munirabad have said that the Government had ordered to release about two tmcft. of water from the Bhadra Reservoir to improve storage in the Tungahadra Reservoir. The authorities concerned opened the sluice gates of that reservoir on Thursday evening. But this was halted when the farmers in Shimoga ghearoed the officials in protest against the move.

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