Hours after Minister for Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) S. Suresh Kumar reviewed the drinking water crisis with officials of various agencies in Bangalore, the Cauvery Neeravari Nigam Ltd. (CNNL) on Tuesday evening began releasing water at the rate of 1,000 cusecs to Bangalore from the Krishnaraja Sagar reservoir (KRS), near Srirangapatna.
A top Irrigation Department officer told The Hindu that CNNL officials received a direction from the State government to release water to Bangalore.
“To comply with the order, we have been releasing 1,000 cusecs to Bangalore from 6 p.m. on Tuesday,” Vijay Kumar, Executive Engineer (CNNL), said.
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Speaking after reviewing the water crisis along with officials of KPTCL, KPCL, Cauvery Neeravari Nigam, and the Urban Development Department, the Minister said the situation was bad.
Calling upon Bangaloreans to conserve water and use available water judiciously, Mr. Suresh Kumar said that Bangalore city could face an unprecedented water shortage this year.
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Meanwhile, the water-level in the KRS dipped to 75.48 ft against the full reservoir level (FRL) of 124.80 ft on Wednesday, an Irrigation Department officer said.
While the inflow was at the rate of 330 cusecs, the outflow stood at 1,200 cusecs on Wednesday.
Water could be drawn from the KRS up to a depth 60 ft. Once the water level falls below 60 ft, water cannot be released to canals or the river.