Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Thursday brought to the notice of Prime Minister Narendra Modi about severe shortage of water levels in State reservoirs owing to overall deficit of rains by 10 per cent since June 1.
In a letter to Mr. Modi, the Chief Minister said: “The monsoon forecast for the Cauvery and Krishna catchment areas is not very encouraging for the months of August and September. The reservoirs which provide the major hydel power to the state have a present storage capacity of only 46-48 per cent of their gross storage capacities.
The low water levels in the reservoirs have also impacted the cultivation under the command area. “In the State, against a targeted seven lakh hectares of paddy, as on August 18, only 2.42 lakh hectares (35 per cent) is under cultivation. The water storage in the Cauvery basin is also likely to affect the drinking water availability in Bengaluru City.”
“My government is very closely monitoring the situation and our cabinet has taken decision not to allow any further releases for irrigation purpose, except in exceptional cases and subject to availability and utilise the existing water only for drinking purpose. In addition, employment generation works under MGNREGS would further strengthen in the Cauvery basin districts.”
“Since there is a general perception that the southwest monsoon has been almost normal in Karnataka, I thought it necessary to bring the above facts to your attention,” Mr. Siddaramaiah wrote.
