Reservoir levels worse than last year; Just 23% of capacity held on Thursday

BENGALURU: Officially, monsoon has hit Karnataka. But if storage levels at major reservoirs are any indication, then the rains being received may just not be enough as all 13 major reservoirs together are holding only 23% of their cumulative gross storage capacity.
And worse, as on Thursday, the reservoirs in the state are holding lesser water than they did on the same day last year - June 23, 2015 - which was one of the worst droughts Karnataka has faced.
According to information obtained from Karnataka State Natural Disaster Monitoring Centre (KSNDMC), the cumulative gross storage capacity of these reservoirs is 860.26 tmc ft but they are holding 198.814 tmc ft or 23%.
If the situation continues for the next couple of weeks, officials said that Karnataka may a similar problem as last year, continuing to push farmers and the government into a deeper crisis.
Only the Narayanapura reservoir is holding above 36% of its capacity, while Harangi holds 20% of its gross capacity. The others hold less than 20%. Out of the 13, three are meant for hydel power.
The KRS, which Bengaluru depends on, has only 7.14 tmc ft of water, while it can store 49.45 tmc ft. Other reservoirs in the Cauvery belt - Kabini, Hemavathi and Harangi - all fare poorly as on Thursday.