Krishi VaartaOutlook Agriculture
Water Shortage in the Country’s reservoirs
The water level in several reservoirs in India has fallen even below the average of the last 10 years, which is worrying. According to the Ministry of Water Resources, on 17 January 2019, water levels in 27 reservoirs in the western region of Gujarat and Maharashtra decreased to 37% of total storage capacity, much less than 52% of the average over the last 10 years. It is also the same as 15 reservoirs in the eastern region of Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal, and Tripura. In these reservoirs, water levels decreased to 61% of their total storage capacity, while water levels in these reservoirs decreased to 69% during the same period last year. Similarly, the water level in 31 reservoirs of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu in southern India has fallen below the average of ten years.
The water level in the 12 reservoirs of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh in the central region represents 52% of its total storage capacity. The water situation in the northern parts of the country is also right. The water level in six reservoirs in Himachal, Punjab, and Rajasthan is 62%, more than 48% of the 10-year average.
Source - Outlook Agriculture, January 19, 2019
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