After witnessing heavy inflow of Cauvery water in the early part of last month, Tamil Nadu ended up with a shortfall of around 11 thousand million cubic feet (tmc ft) in the realisation of its share since June.
During the period June-August, the State should have received 86.38 tmc ft. But it got 75.048 tmc ft, of which August accounted for 57.497 tmc ft. The quantum prescribed by the Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA) for September is 36.76 tmc ft.
Though the State received marginally higher last month than its due of 45.95 tmc ft, the quantum it got this time was much lower than what it recorded in August 2018 and 2019. In those two years, the realisation in the same month was 176.5 tmc ft and 92.331 tmc ft respectively.
Senior officials of the Public Works Department expressed hope, quoting the forecast by the meteorological department that in the next week, the Cauvery catchment areas in Karnataka and Kerala will experience heavy rain, which will yield another round of heavy flow into Tamil Nadu.
Last week, at the meetings of the Cauvery Water Regulation Committee (CWRC) and the CWMA, Karnataka’s representatives pleaded their inability to give water as demanded by Tamil Nadu. According to them, this year is a “sub-normal” one as four reservoirs in the Karnataka portion of the Cauvery basin had not received what they should have.
More than State’s due
On the contrary, at the Biligundlu gauging site on the inter-State border (which is the reference point for measurement of water flow), Tamil Nadu realised last month more than what was due.
However, Tamil Nadu pointed out that as per the information provided by the meteorological department, areas upstream of Biligundlu had recorded higher rainfall than normal. This was why Karnataka should stick to water release as stipulated by the CWMA.
The next meeting of the CWRC is scheduled for September 9 when Tamil Nadu will reiterate its demand that Karnataka honour the monthly release as designed by the CWMA, the officials added.
