On Thursday, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah penned a letter to his Maharashtra counterpart Eknath Shinde, urging the release of water from Warna/Koyna Dam to the Krishna and Bhima Rivers in northern Karnataka to fulfill the requirements of both people and livestock.
The communication urged the relevant authorities to promptly release 2.00 TMC of water from the Warna/Koyna reservoir into the Krishna river and 1.00 TMC of water from the Ujjani reservoir into the Bhima river.
In his correspondence to Shinde, the Karnataka CM mentioned that the monsoon season is distant, with no expectation of rainfall in the upcoming months.
“Presently, the Northern Districts of Karnataka are facing severe drought situation due to failure of monsoons. The storages of reservoirs have depleted substantially which is insufficient to meet the domestic needs of human and livestock. The monsoon season is quite far and there be no chance of any likely rainfall in the coming months before the onset of monsoon,” Karnataka CM wrote.
He also conveyed his appreciation to the Maharashtra government for their past instances of releasing water to the state.
“On earlier occasions, during the summer seasons, the government of Maharashtra had responded positively to the release of water from the Krishna River to meet the drinking water needs of human beings and livestock. The (Government of Karnataka hereby conveys sincere thanks to the State of Maharashtra,” he added.
The state is grappling with a severe water crisis, exacerbated by drought-like conditions leading to a decline in reservoir levels.
The state capital, Bengaluru, is contending with a deficit of 500 million litres per day (MLD), stated Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah following a review of the city’s water supply during a meeting on Monday.
The present demand for drinking water and commercial purposes in Bengaluru stands at 2,600 MLD, out of which 1,450 MLD is sourced from the Cauvery river, he noted, highlighting that approximately 650 MLD is obtained from borewells. This leaves the city facing a deficit of 500 MLD of water.
He remarked that essential measures have been implemented to address this shortage.
“We have enough storage of drinking water in the Cauveri and Kabini. Sufficient water is available till the end of June. There is 11.02 TMC water storage in KRS (Krishna Raja Sagara) and 9.02 TMC in Kabini,” Siddaramaiah stated.