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Rains failed us, brace for power-water crisis: DK Shivakumar

Shivakumar said on Wednesday that water scarcity had forced the government to stop hydel power generation.

Bengaluru: It could be a dry and dark summer in 2017 if the North-East Monsoon in October-November does not bring heavy spells of rain to Karnataka.

Relations with neighbouring Tamil Nadu over the mandatory supply of water, could take a beating if the rains continue to play truant and push the state into one of the worst droughts in recent years.

Sounding an ominous warning, Energy Minister D.K. Shivakumar said on Wednesday that water scarcity had forced the government to stop hydel power generation, the major source of energy. At present, state reservoirs are filled only up to 40 per cent of their capacities.

“Even in the present scenario, the state is able to procure 9,500 MW power against the demand of 8000 MW. Going by these statistics, we are not facing a crunch situation, but the day is not far off when the state may face a crisis,” he warned.

With regard to the water crisis, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah would soon be writing a letter to Prime Minister, Narendra Modi seeking his intervention to keep Tamil Nadu ‘in good stead’ over the vexed issue of releasing water from the Cauvery river basin.

"Reservoir levels in the Cauvery basin are at an all time low. The present storage in KRS is only 15.5 TMC. The situation is bleak, so we had to seek Mr Modi's
intervention."

( Source : Deccan Chronicle. )
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