Twice as much water as at same time last year

Storage levels in reservoirs are important not just for irrigation for the upcoming winter crops but also for power generation as many of these reservoirs are linked with large hydro-power stations.

According to the latest information put out by the Central Water Commission,66 of the 81 reservoirs were reporting above 80 per cent of the normal storage levels for this time of the year. Deficient reservoirs included the three in Rajasthan,which has missed out on good rainfall till now. Two reservoirs in Gujarat and one each in Orissa,Tripura,Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh were also short of normal levels.

Overall,the situation is much better than last year and also when compared to the last 10 years8217; average. There is deficit in some areas,particularly Rajasthan,but I guess this will be made up for in due course. The monsoon is progressing well and we are hoping for healthy rainfall in the coming months, CWC chairman A K Bajaj told The Indian Express.

Incidentally,the Met department,in its latest forecast last month,made a downward revision in its prediction for this years monsoon,saying the overall rainfall in the four-month season was likely to be only 95 per cent of the long-period average which is classified as below normal and not 98 per cent or normal,as predicted earlier.

But that is not a huge cause of concern as yet for the CWC with Bajaj saying that the downward revision was not very substantial.

Ten of the 12 major river basins,including the Ganga,the Indus,the Narmada,the Godavari,the Krishna,the Cauvery and the Mahanadi,are carrying sufficient water,while two,the Mahi and the Sabarmati,are deficient.

Of the 36 reservoirs with significant hydro-power facilities,storage in 29 is at levels comfortable enough to sustain electricity generation while that in the remaining seven are below normal.

The CWC,as on June 30,had found three rivers the Dhansiri S,the Kosi and the Tista to be flowing above the danger mark,corresponding to a moderate flood situation.

Despite the comfortable water storage situation and above-normal rainfall during the first month of the monsoon,the preliminary sowing operations of the kharif crop appears to be marginally lagging with the sowing area of major crops like rice,pulses and oilseeds being below what they were at the same time last year. However,these are still preliminary stages of the sowing season and the figures are likely to improve .

With the next sugar crushing season starting in October,the acreage of sugarcane is marginally up by about 2.4 lalkh hectares as compared to last year. The sowing of cotton and oilseeds is running behind schedule.