With the onset of summer, water problems have started in the country. The situation is even worse in South India. The states of South India are facing severe water crisis and the situation is such that the water level in the reservoirs supplying water to the South has fallen to barely 17 percent.
Central Water Commission has given this information.
South Indian states include Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. A bulletin issued by the CWC regarding water storage status in reservoirs in various regions of India said that there are 42 reservoirs under the commission’s supervision in the southern regions, with a total water storage capacity of 53.334 billion cubic meters (BCM). As per the latest report, the current water level in these reservoirs is 8.865 billion cubic metres, which is only 17 per cent of its total capacity.
This level was 29 percent in the same period last year.
If this water level is compared with last year, the water level during the same period was 29 percent, not only this, the level of 17 percent is much less than the average of 23 percent of the last 10 years of this period. Such low levels of reservoirs in the southern regions indicate increasing water scarcity in these states and potential challenges in terms of irrigation, drinking water and hydropower.
Situation improved in the eastern region
As far as the eastern region of the country is concerned, the situation has improved this year compared to the average of the last 10 years. The commission said the 23 reservoirs under its supervision in the region with a total storage capacity of 20,430 bcm still have 7,889 bcm of water, which is 39 per cent of the total capacity, as against the level of 34 per cent in the same period last year. And the 10-year average shows an improvement in the situation by 34 percent.
