By – Aditi Gupta
Some of these facts have been revealed in the Central Water Commission’s most recent report, which ought to worry everyone more. The Water Commission’s assessment states that just 21% of the 150 major reservoirs in the nation remain full of water.
In addition to having people perspire, the country’s intense heat has dried up water supplies. Some of these numbers were made public in the Central Water Commission’s most recent report, which may raise concerns for everyone. The Water Commission’s assessment says that only 21% of the water remains in the nation’s 150 major reservoirs. These reservoirs have a combined storage capacity of 178.784 billion cubic meters (BCM), or roughly 69.35 percent of the nation’s total water storage capacity. They are very important for hydropower projects and water supply.
As of Thursday, these reservoirs’ available storage amounted to 37.662 BCM, or 21% of their total capacity. With 150 reservoirs, the total live storage available is 54.310 BCM, compared to the predicted 257.812 BCM total capacity. This amount is lower than it was a year ago. According to the Central Water Commission data, reservoir storage is currently lower than it has been over the last ten years on average. The reservoirs held approximately 22 percent of their total storage two weeks ago, and 23% the week before that.
In terms of North India, ten reservoirs located in Punjab, Rajasthan, and Himachal Pradesh have a total capacity of 19.663 BCM for storing water. The Central Water Commission report states that these reservoirs currently hold 5.488 BCM of water. This is a drop of 39 percent from the previous year.
Regarding the northeastern states, there are 23 reservoirs with a combined storage capacity of 20.430 BCM spread over Assam, Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal, Tripura, Nagaland, and Bihar. Currently, these reservoirs hold 3.873 BCM of water, or 19% of their total capacity. However, compared to 18% of the previous year, the amount of water stored in these 23 reservoirs has somewhat grown.
Gujarat and Maharashtra, two of India’s western states, together include 49 reservoirs. Their capacity to store water is 37.130 BCM. These 49 reservoirs have 7.608 BCM of water stored in them at the moment. The proportion of storage has decreased to 20.49 percent from 24 percent in the previous year.
Similarly, 26 reservoirs in Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh have a collective capacity of 48.227 BCM for storing water. As of right now, the combined water storage capacity of these 26 reservoirs is 12.185 BCM. Comparing this storage to last year, it has decreased to 25% from 32%. The Central Water Commission’s report indicates that all of the nation’s reservoirs’ capacity to store water has decreased compared to last