Water level in key reservoirs KRS, Tungabhadra remains low as Karnataka receives less than one-third of June rainfall

The shortfall is attributed to the delayed onset of monsoon – this year, monsoon came to Karnataka on June 10 against the normal onset of June 5. Since the onset, it has remained relatively weak with only patchy spells of rain.

South Interior Karnataka, despite a deficit of 21 per cent, is the only region in the state which has recorded close to normal rainfall. Bengaluru Urban has recorded 49 mm of rainfall, which is 26 per cent less than normal. As a whole, Karnataka has received only 55 mm rainfall against a normal of 152 mm – 64 per cent less.

The poor showers mean that the inflow of key reservoirs of the state, such as the KRS dam in Mandya district and Tungabhadra in Vijayanagar district, remain low. The storage at KRS as on June 24 was at 9.93 TMC, compared to 28.35 TMC on the same day last year. Similarly, Tungabhadra was currently holding 4.18 TMC of water, as against 43.92 TMC last year.

Forecasts indicate that the situation is likely to improve in the coming days as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast widespread rainfall in coastal districts and scattered showers in other parts of the state for the next four days. “Inflow to reservoirs will improve as rainfall picks up in the coming days. Usually, reservoirs get more inflow during the months of July and August,” a KSNDMC scientist said.