Nagpur: Amid concerns over water scarcity in the region, Itiadoh dam in Gondia district is full and has been overflowing since Saturday. The dam irrigates thousands of hectares in Gondia, Bhandara and Gadchiroli districts, with excess water eventually flowing into Wainganga river through a tributary.“The overflow began at 6 am on Saturday and, as of 3 pm on Monday, the spillway was discharging 1,017.04 cusecs of water. The catchment area has received 1,139 mm of rain this season,” Ketan Girhepunje, section engineer of the project, said.“With the dam full, 17,900 hectares will be irrigated in the kharif season, while around 12,000 hectares will be covered in the rabi and summer seasons. The dam’s water reaches three districts and four talukas,” he said.Of the dam’s total command area, 6,012 hectares is in Arjuni Morgaon taluka of Gondia, 4,776 hectares is in Lakhandur taluka of Bhandara and the remaining 7,192 hectares is spread across Armori and Wadsa talukas of Gadchiroli, Girhepunje said.The dam’s gross storage is 384.16 MCM, while its latest live storage is 317.87 MCM.“Itiadoh dam has been filling continuously for the past five years. This year it filled slightly late due to lower inflows,” Girhepunje said.The full reservoir comes against the backdrop of a deficient monsoon. Maharashtra received 798.2 mm of rain between June 1 and Sept 26, against a normal 970.9 mm, an 18% deficit, while Vidarbha recorded an average shortfall of about 27%.Dry spells have also affected kharif crops such as soybean, cotton and tur.
