Telangana tops with 68.3 per cent surplus water

Thanks to nine years of effective water resource development and management

Hyderabad: While a majority of the States in the country are scrambling for water with their reservoirs fast dipping, Telangana turned out to be the only State better placed in terms of water availability supported by adequate storage levels in its sources.

The September comfort enjoyed by Telangana State in water availability, despite all the major projects in the Krishna basin drawing a blank receiving zero inflows, owed to nine years of focus on the water resource development and effective management.

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Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme was the major source that helped in filling many of drying reservoirs to the brim even before the onset of monsoon. It helped in insulating a major part of the State barring a few pockets under the Krishna river projects like Srisailam and Nagarjunasagar from the vagaries of the monsoon.

Among the 21 States for which the Central Water Commission (CWC) publishes reservoir data, all but five States have deficits. Of the five States that are in advantage, Telangana is on the top with a surplus of 68.3 per cent. It stands way ahead compared to Gujarat and Uttarakhand which registered a marginal surplus of 14.6 per cent and 12.1 per cent respectively.

The States of Himachal Pradesh and Nagaland have a surplus of 6.0 per cent and 2.7 per cent. Bihar is topping the list of deficit States with -77.1% followed by Tamil Nadu and West Bengal with -57.4 per cent and -44.3 per cent respectively. Andhra Pradesh has its reservoir levels declined by -44 per cent compared to its 10 years of normal average by September 14.

Almost all the important States are likely to end up with a dry monsoon having a bearing on the Kharif crops as well as the Rabi.