Cleared/Salil (PUBLISHED ONLINE)Dharmapuri: Heavy rain in Kerala and Karnataka resulted in a sharp increase in the inflow into the Kabini reservoir near Mysuru, forcing authorities to step up discharge of surplus water. With inflow touching 19,037 cusecs, officials gradually raised the outflow from 12,000 cusecs to 25,000 cusecs on Monday.Tamil Nadu water resources department (WRD) officials hinted that the water released from Kabini dam might reach Billikundulu – the entry of the Cauvery river in Tamil Nadu — in the early hours of Tuesday.The Kabini dam, with a full capacity of 65 feet, recorded a water level of 63 feet on Monday. As a result, the Kabini river is in a spate, prompting the Karnataka govt to issue warnings to residents in low-lying areas to move to safer locations.WRD officials said precautionary measures were being taken to monitor the situation. “We are keeping a close watch on inflow and outflow levels. People living along the riverbanks must remain alert,” a senior water resources department officer stated.The rising waters are likely to impact Dharmapuri district, particularly Hogenakkal, which is a popular tourist spot. Authorities in Tamil Nadu are preparing for possible flooding and have urged residents not to venture near the river.Meanwhile, the water level at the Mettur dam stood at 73.18 feet against its full reservoir level of 120 feet on Monday. The storage was 35.48 tmc ft, compared with the dam’s capacity of 93.47 tmc ft. Inflow into the reservoir increased to 68 cusecs from 47 cusecs on Sunday, while the discharge for drinking water purposes into the Cauvery river was maintained at 1,003 cusecs.The sharp rise in reservoir levels in Karnataka has brought temporary relief from the recent Cauvery water-sharing tensions. Agitations by farmers and Kannada organisations against the release of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu have subsided for now as storage levels continued to improve.
