Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: The in Àow into the Mettur dam increased to 7,151 cusecs on August 11, up from 5,760 cusecs, as water released from reservoirs in Karnataka continued to Àow into Tamil Nadu through the Cauvery River.
The increase comes amid Àuctuations in water releases from Karnataka following changes in rainfall and reservoir inÀows across the Cauvery catchment areas.
The southwest monsoon had intensi¿ed over parts of Karnataka in recent days, bringing substantial rainfall to the catchment areas and increasing inÀows into major reservoirs in the Cauvery basin.
With water levels rising, Karnataka began releasing water from the Kabini reservoir into the Cauvery from August 1. The quantity of water discharged from Kabini has since been adjusted depending on inÀows into the reservoir. At one stage, the release from Kabini was increased to around 27,000 cusecs following heavy inÀows caused by rainfall in the catchment areas.
Water was also released from the Krishna Raja Sagar reservoir, with around 1,000 cusecs being discharged towards Tamil Nadu.
However, rainfall subsequently weakened in the catchment areas, resulting in a decline in inÀows into Karnataka’s reservoirs. The authorities consequently began reducing the quantum of water released downstream. Despite the lower discharge from Karnataka, water released from the reservoirs has continued to travel downstream and enter Tamil Nadu.
