SINGING IN THE SHOWERS- 6th July 2009
Good news! No power crisis, and water in plenty. The monsoon has made a belated appearance, and the state is relieved -TEAM TOI
Bangalore: After a long dry spell, the monsoon has set in proper over the state, which was gasping for rain. There has been steady rainfall for the past couple of days. The water level in many reservoirs has improved after rain lashed the Malnad and coastal belts of the state. The good news is that power will be in plenty, and has kindled hopes that the severe power crunch plaguing the state since the onset of summer, will end.
MYSORE
With the water level inching up in K R Sagar, Bangalore and Mysore may not have to battle a water crisis. The water storage in all four major reservoirs in the Cauvery basin has improved — inflow into both the Krishnarajasagar and Kabini dams increased from Saturday. The level at KRS dam stood at 79 ft as on Sunday evening, with inflow touching 19,000 cusecs on Sunday morning and falling a bit to 15,559 cusecs by evening. Within two days, the water level rose by over 6 ft. Last year, the level stood at 105 ft around this time July, against a maximum of 124.8 ft.
The level in the Kabini dam near H D Kote is also rising by the hour — standing at 2,270.52 ft on Sunday evening, with an inflow of 13,000 cusecs. Inflow is up from 9,000 cusecs on Saturday. The maximum height of the dam is 2,284 ft. Catchment areas of the Kabini are getting heavy rainfall.
MADIKERI
Following good downpour in the Malnad region, the Harangi reservoir touched a level of 2,810 feet (2,859 ft maximum) on Sunday, leaving it on the verge of overflow. Last year, the level was 2,840 feet during the same period. The inflow is 2,459 cusecs. The average rainfall in Kodagu so far is 24 inches, 13 inches less than last year.
SHIMOGA
The level in Linganamakki, the main source for power generation, has increased by 4 ft, with heavy rain in the catchment area over the past week. Water in the 1,819-ft dam has climbed to 1,752 ft, just 67 ft short of the brim. Last year, the level was at 1,762 ft.
UDUPI
With steady rain through the weekend, houses and roads were damaged, and the sea grew choppy and dangerous. On Sunday morning, Udupi DC in-charge Prasanna Kumar said the district administration is at the ready for any exigencies. Udupi recorded the highest rainfall of 198.6 mm on Saturday, and 133 mm on Friday.
MANGALORE
Dakshina Kannada district went under rain for a good 24 hours, leading to a steady rise in water level across major rivers. Puttur and Mangalore assistant commissioners K Harish Kumar and Prabhuling Kavalikatti said there has been no loss of life, injuries or damage to property due to the downpour.
HUBLI
After six anxious weeks, farmers of North Karnataka are smiling again. Rain clouds are frowning over the skyline, and it’s been raining across the state since June-end. Everyone is happy — from ryots to housewives to netas. As many as 90 taluks in 14 districts have received normal rainfall in the past eight days. Some taluks have even received excess rain. In fact, as on Saturday, the state on the whole received just a bit less than the average rainfall for the period. Met officials are optimistic that if the trend continues, the fear of drought will be wiped out.
With fears of deficit rain looming, agriculture minister S A Ravindranath had said the state would think of a contingency plan, like cloud seeding. However, the picture is rosy and it appears the farmers will be out of the drought trap.
Rainfall in Maharashtra has led to a slow increase in water levels in the Krishna basin. “The state’s power scarcity situation could be resolved too,’’ State Disaster Monitoring Centre director V S Prakash said. “The meteorological department has indicated that rain could continue through next week.’’
toiblr.reporter@timesgroup.com