Storage in India’s 155 major reservoirs declined marginally this week, with storage in key Rabi growing states higher than normal.
Data from the Central Water Commission (CWC) showed that storage in major reservoirs this week was 85 percent or 152.911 billion cubic meters (BCM) of the capacity of 180.852 BCM. Last week the level was 154.981 BCM or 86 percent.
The level was 24 percentage points higher than last year and 18 percentage points more than normal (average over the past 10 years).
According to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), the country received 10 percent less post-monsoon rainfall from November 14. Data received from 723 districts between October 1 and November 7 shows that 64 percent (61 percent last week) of the country received inadequate rainfall.
Sowing Rabi
While prospects are for rabi to be sown, preliminary reports indicate that it is lagging at 7.4 percent as of November 8.
The CWC weekly bulletin on live storage status of major reservoirs showed that Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar and Nagaland had lower than normal storage capacity. Andhra Pradesh (42% above normal), Gujarat (40%), Telangana (39%) and West Bengal (37%) had higher above normal storage than other states.
In the Northern Region’s 11 reservoirs, levels were at 61 percent of capacity of 19,836 BCM at 12,061 BCM. The markup in Himachal Pradesh was 28 per cent lower than normal, while in Punjab it was 49 per cent lower than normal. The markup in Rajasthan was 17 percent higher than normal.
In the 25 reservoirs in the eastern region, storage had fallen to 73 percent (75 percent a week ago) of capacity of 20,798 BCM at 15,230 BCM. Besides Bengal and Bihar, Assam, Jharkhand and Odisha had over 70 percent storage capacity, while the level in Nagaland was 95 percent.
Highest markup
The western region had the highest storage, which remained unchanged at 96 percent of capacity for the third week in a row. Storage in the 50 reservoirs in the region amounted to 35,824 BCM compared to the capacity of 37,357 BCM. Storage in Gujarat was 974 percent of capacity, while in Maharashtra it was 97 percent. Goa was filled to the brim.
In the Central Region’s 26 reservoirs, levels had dropped slightly to 88 percent (89 percent) or 42,980 BCM of capacity of 48,227 BCM. The reservoirs in Madhya Pradesh were filled to 94 percent of their capacity, while in Uttar Pradesh it was 69 percent. The levels in Uttarakhand and Chhattisgarh were 89 percent and 69 percent respectively.
In the southern region, levels in the 43 reservoirs remained unchanged at 87 percent of capacity of 54,634 BCM at 42,198 BCM. The levels in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh were 99 and 78 percent of capacity respectively. The mark-up in Tamil Nadu was 83 per cent, while in Karnataka it was 90 per cent and in Kerala it was 76 per cent.
Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology has predicted the Indian Ocean dipole will appear this month. If that happens, it could impact rainfall in western parts of the country. The IMD had forecast normal to excessive rainfall in most parts of south India and the western Himalayan region this week.
