Due to the serious water scarcity across North Karnataka districts, water collected in reservoirs will be utilised only for drinking purposes, till quantum of rainfall increases, in-charge Regional Commissioner Nitesh Patil said in Belagavi on Thursday.
He also gave certain instructions to officials and engineers in charge of all reservoirs in the region at a meeting in his office.
Mr. Patil said that the inflow at some of the reservoirs has slightly increased in the last few days due to rainfall in Maharashtra. But it is not adequate, he noted. He asked officials to release water from the Dhupadal weir on the Ghataprabha till the water level in the dam fell to 2008.5 ft.
Some of the multi village drinking water schemes below the dam have been stopped due to lack of availability of water in the dam.
Villages such as Hulkund and surrounding areas in Belagavi district and villages such as Saidapur, Arakere, Chinchalakatte, Anawala and Katageri in Bagalkot district are suffering.
Officials should ensure that enough water is released into the Ghataprabha river after the minimum level is reached, he said.
However, in unavoidable circumstances, water for irrigation can be released after taking prior permission from the State government or the Irrigation Consultative Committee, he said.
Officials from the irrigation project sites of Almatti, Malaprabha, Ghataprabha and Hipparagi participated in the meeting.
Rain scarcity in various North Karnataka district is as follows:
Belagavi is suffering from nearly 60% scarcity. It has received only 71 mm of rainfall against an annual average of 171 mm.
Bagalkot has reported 67% scarcity, with only 47 mm of rainfall as against a normal of 98 mm, Gadag has recorded 65 mm rainfall against a normal of 95 mm, while Haveri has recorded 49% scarcity, with only 75 mm of rainfall against a normal of 146 mm.
Dharwad has reported 51% scarcity with only 71 mm of rainfall against a normal of 147 mm and Uttara Kannada district has 41% scarcity with 506 mm of rainfall against an annual average rainfall of 859 mm for this period of the year.
Irrigation Department officials have said that around half a tmcft of water has been released into the Krishna river from various reservoirs, but that is not enough for increasing the area under cultivation, which is around 25% of the estimated area in Belagavi district.
