The combined water storage in the 81 important reservoirs in the country, monitored by the Central Water Commission (CWC), stood at 39 per cent of their designed capacity on March 31. The average was 14 per cent at the onset of the South-West Monsoon on June 1, 2010.
Of the 81 reservoirs, the storage level in 16 is reported to be less than 80 per cent of the last 10-year average, while in the remaining 65 the storage is more than 80 per cent, the CWC reported to the Crop and Weather Watch Group under the Ministry of Agriculture. The group reviewed on Friday the rabi cultivation and position of water storage in various reservoirs in the country.
The storage position in Indus, Narmada, Ganga, Tapi, Godavari, Krishna, rivers of the Kutch, Cauvery, Mahanadi and west-flowing rivers of the south basins is better than the average of the previous 10 years.
The water storage in the Sabarmati basin is close to the average. However, the storage in the Mahi basin is reported to be deficient.
The water levels in the major reservoirs is important for the cultivation of kharif crop.
