Central Water Commission bulletin also shows reservoirs in at least 7 states at less than normal storage, worst in Bihar
Live storage in India's reservoirs increased marginally from 85 per cent of the total capacity last week to 86 per cent this week. Photo: Wikimedia Commons Rains are lashing several states in the country, with many expected to receive heavy rain over the weekend according to India Meteorological Centre. The number of full reservoirs in the country has increased from 26 to 35 in the last week, with 10 of them overflowing.
The Central Water Commission (CWC) monitors 123 major reservoirs in the country, and 35 are at full capacity, according to the latest bulletin. These are located in Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh (MP), Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu (TN) and Odisha.
CWC comes under the central government that oversees water quality across the country.
The reservoirs that are overflowing are:
Rajasthan, MP, Gujarat, TN, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Telangana have recorded either ‘excess’ or ‘large excess’ cumulative rainfall till September 15, as per data by IMD.
At the same time, reservoirs in at least seven states report less than normal storage — the average mark for the last 10 years. These states are Odisha, West Bengal, Tripura, Nagaland, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand.
Read more: Multiple troughs, La Nina: Why Bengaluru is flooding repeatedly this monsoon
The highest departure from normal is in Bihar, with 44 per cent less water storage than normal at this time of the year. It was followed by Tripura (33 per cent deficit) and Uttar Pradesh (30 per cent deficit).
Three of these states — Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Tripura — are still facing a rainfall deficit, as per IMD. This is a cumulative deficit observed since the monsoon started on June 1 through September 15.
While Uttar Pradesh’s rainfall deficit is 43 per cent, Bihar’s cumulative rainfall falls by 34 per cent and Tripura’s by 22 per cent.
There are three reservoirs with less than 50 per cent storage, two in Uttar Pradesh and one in Jharkhand. Overall, the live storage in all reservoirs increased marginally from 85 per cent of the total capacity last week to 86 per cent this week.
The storage position in the western states was much better compared to the rest of the country. Gujarat and Maharashtra have 46 reservoirs that are 94 per cent capacity. This was followed by reservoirs in southern states, which had 92 per cent storage.
The eastern region had the lowest storage at 66 per cent.
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