Torrential rains in the Western Ghats in Karnataka and in the catchment areas of the Tungabhadra have pushed up the storage levels in the Tungabhadra dam.
As of 6 p.m. on July 10 (Sunday), the inflows to the dam was 88,270 cusecs. The water storage at the dam stood at 80.55 tmc ft against the capacity of 105.788 tmc ft. The water level reached 1,626.22 feet against the maximum of 1,633 ft. The water level on this day the previous year was 1,610 ft. while the storage was 35.79 tmc ft.
The inflows had come down from 95,000 cusecs on Saturday, but were steady at 88,270 cusecs.
The dam authorities may release water into the river if the level reaches close to its FRL of 105.788 tmc ft.
Meanwhile, the Kurnool district authorities have alerted the villagers on both the banks of the river about the likely heavy flow in the river if the dam engineers release water on Monday or Tuesday, depending on the quantum of inflows.
The dam has so far received 42.35 tmc ft of water (total yield) against 28.58 tmc ft the previous year.
Estimated allocation
According to the Tungabhadra Board estimates, the dam is likely to receive a total yield of 171 tmc ft this water year, and the pro rata allocation made for the High-Level Main Canal (HLMC) is 26.215 tmc ft, which serves the drinking and irrigation water needs of Anantapur district.
Andhra Pradesh, in 2021 water year, had an allocation of 32.5 tmc ft through the HLC; 24 tmc ft through the Low-Level Canal that flows into Kurnool district, and another 10 tmc ft through the HLC as Krishna water diversion quota for KC Canal, making it 66.5 tmc ft in total.
Based on the actual utilisation till December 31, 2021, the 212 tmc ft received was equal to the allocation made as per the KWDT Award 45 years ago.
“That was the highest abstraction in the history of the dam after 1980-81,” Anantapur Irrigation Superintending Engineer Nayakanti Rajasekhar told The Hindu.
