New Delhi, Aug 10 (IANS) Incessant rains in some catchment areas boosted water levels across major reservoirs in the country to 48 per cent of the total storage capacity of the reservoirs from 45 per cent last week, the government said on Friday.
At the same time, torrential rains in several parts of Kerala since Wednesday took a heavy toll of life and 24 dams had to be opened -- first time in the state.
According to the Ministry of Water Resources, the water storage in 91 major reservoirs of the country for the week was 77.554 BCM (Billion Cubic Metres), which is 48 per cent of the total storage capacity of these reservoirs. It was 45 per cent for last week.
"Water storage level of 91 major reservoirs of the country goes up by 3 per cent," the Ministry said in a statement.
The report states that the total storage capacity of these 91 reservoirs is 161.993 BCM, which is about 63 per cent of the total storage capacity of 257.812 BCM, estimated to have been created in the country.
As per the Central Water Commission (CWC), states like Odisha, Tripura, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana (two combined projects in both states), Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, which come in the eastern and southern regions, had better water storage in reservoirs than last year.
The Commission reported the water storage level dipped compared to last year in central, northern and western region states like Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
