Water, Power Crisis Ahead? Karnataka’s Reservoir Numbers Raise Fresh Questions

Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar has asked people to be 'mentally prepared', even as he said the government was taking measures to manage the situation

Karnataka’s four major Cauvery basin reservoirs are holding significantly less water than they did on the same day last year, with the sharp fall in storage coming amid a severe rainfall deficit across the state. The Krishna Raja Sagar, Kabini, Hemavati and Harangi reservoirs together are showing a marked year-on-year decline, raising concerns over drinking water availability, irrigation and hydropower generation in the months ahead.

The situation has prompted Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar to warn that the state could face a shortage of drinking water and electricity and ask people to be “mentally prepared", even as he said the government was taking measures to manage the situation.