Madikeri: The flow of water in the Cauvery at Kushalnagar has receded, with the popular tourist town beginning to face a water crisis.A sandbag bund has been placed in the river near the pump house at Baichanahalli, which supplies drinking water to Kushalnagar, and steps are being taken to store water. Maintenance work on the town’s borewells is under way, municipal chief officer Girish said.At the Dubare tourist centre, the river flow has completely declined, forcing the halt of rafting activities. The rafts have been parked on the riverbank, and tourists are crossing the river on sandbags placed in the water to reach the Dubare elephant camp. Meanwhile, residents of Basaveshwara block in Kushalnagar have raised concerns as borewells, on which most houses depend, are drying up.The flow of water in both the Cauvery and Harangi rivers has receded. At present, some water is being released from the Harangi reservoir for public drinking purposes and for livestock.The water level at the Harangi dam has also dropped sharply, with storage falling to 3.21 TMC, down from its maximum capacity of 8.50 TMC.Based on demand, water levels will be maintained, and releases will be made only for drinking purposes to villages, Harangi dam executive engineer IK Puttaswamy said.
