CWMA asks Karnataka to offset T.N. water shortfall this month

Cauvery catchments recorded around 25% deficit in rainfall: CWMA chairman

The Cauvery Water Management Authority (CWMA), at its meeting on Tuesday, “requested” Karnataka to make good in September the shortfall in the realisation of Cauvery water by Tamil Nadu. Disclosing this, CWMA chairman S.K Haldar, who is also the head of the Central Water Commission, told The Hindu over phone that the Cauvery catchments had recorded around 25% deficit in rainfall. “The realisation by four reservoirs of Karnataka (Krishnaraja Sagar, Kabini, Hemavati, and Harangi) was less by 23% to 24%. Accordingly, there was lower water release,” he said. In view of the Meteorological Department’s rainfall forecast for September, the CWMA has told Karnataka to compensate the shortfall, he added. A release issued by the Tamil Nadu government said that as on August 30, the cumulative shortfall since June 1 was 27.86 thousand million cubic feet (tmc ft). For the three months, Tamil Nadu should have got 86.38 tmc ft., but it received 57.04 tmc ft. Karnataka, according to the release, explained that its reservoirs should have received 209 tmc ft by now, but they realised only 156 tmc ft.