Tamil Nadu on the verge of water shortage?

Tamil Nadu on the verge of water shortage?
Tamil Nadu on the verge of water shortage?
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The News Minute | March 9, 2015 | 4.35 PM ISTTamil Nadu seems to be on the verge of facing an acute water shortage this summer. Despite having received sufficient rainfall during the north-east monsoon, ground water has not been replenished. A dozen districts have lesser ground water levels as compared to the previous year, but officials maintain that there is enough water to meet the needs in summer.The Mettur Dam, a multipurpose project over Cauvery river that provides irrigation facilities for over 1.1 lakh hectare of agriculture land and has an installed power producing capacity of 250 MW is drying up fast according to reports. The water level dipped to 74 feet as against its 120 feet capacity.The eighty-year-old dam also faces problems of sedimentation. Studies have found that the dam’s capacity has been reduced from 120 ft to 93 ft because of sediment deposition. Though three surveys were done to assess the extent of sedimentation, not once has the dam been de-silted. The dam has recently been receiving poor inflow. As against water discharge for drinking purpose of 1000 cubic feet per sec (cusec) it received only 190 cusec this season. The rainfall received in the months of January and February was deficient by 65%. The increased evaporation rate has also led to further reduction in the water level.“The outflow from the dam will be reduced if the present situation continues. If the water levels drop below 60 feet, we cannot release water for the farmers,” Deccan Herald reported a PWD official as saying. The water levels at other dams also portray a grim picture. As against 105 ft capacity, the water level at the Bhavanisagar dam stood at 80 ft. That of Papanasam stood at 30.8 ft as against 143 ft and of Parambikulam at 26.7 as against 72 ft.TweetFollow @thenewsminute

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