Karnataka starts releasing water on Cauvery Water Management Authority directives

The Karnataka Government’s decision to comply with the CWMA directives is seen as an attempt to avoid strictures from the Supreme Court

File picture of a woman collecting water from the Cauvery river, which flows into the water spread area of Stanley Reservoir, near Mettur in Salem district in Tamil Nadu | Photo Credit: Lakshmi Narayanan E.

In compliance with the directives of the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA), Karnataka has begun releasing water from its reservoirs to Tamil Nadu and the outflow from the Krishnaraja Sagar (KRS) reservoir across the river Cauvery in Mandya district has been stepped up.

The outflow into the river is at the rate of 4,398 cusecs against an inflow of 2,300 cusecs as on Wednesday.

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The rate of outflow was 2,292 cusecs at 8 p.m. on Tuesday but the outflow from the dam was stepped up from around 11 p.m. The outflow from the Kabini reservoir in Mysuru district was at the rate of 2,000 cusecs as on 8 a.m. on Wednesday and the cumulative outflow from both the reservoirs will be around 6,398 cusecs.

The CWMA on Tuesday had directed the State to ensure 5,000 cusecs of water at Biligundulu on the Karnataka-Tamil Nadu border for 15 days up to September 12.

Karnataka’s argument

Though the State had strongly argued against its inability to release water, the CWMA upheld the recommendations made by the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee to release 5,000 cusecs.

Various farmers organisations have threatened to launch an agitation in case the water is released but the State Government’s decision to comply with the CWMA directives is also seen as an attempt to avoid strictures from the Supreme Court, which is also seized of the matter, and the issue is slated to come up for hearing during the week.

Reservoir level

The water level at the KRS as on Wednesday was 101.58 ft against the full reservoir level of 124.80 ft. The water level on the same day last year was 123.92 ft underlining the paucity of rains in the Cauvery catchment areas.

The gross storage capacity of the KRS is 49.45 tmc ft and the actual storage as on Tuesday was 24.27 tmc ft, as per the records maintained by the Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC). The gross capacity of the Kabini reservoir is 19.52 tmc ft against which the actual storage on Tuesday was 13.61 tmc ft. The cumulative flow from both the KRS and the Kabini of 5,000 cusecs over 15 days will result in an yield of nearly 6.8 tmc ft to Tamil Nadu.