Maharashtra government asks Karnataka to release more water from Almatti dam to avoid flooding

Mumbai: In view of heavy rainfall in parts of western Maharashtra, the state government has urged Karnataka to release more water from Almatti dam to avoid flooding in Sangli and Kolhapur districts, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said on Thursday.

Almatti dam, officially known as Lal Bahadur Shastri dam, is a hydroelectric project on the Krishna river in north Karnataka.

Speaking to reporters, he said, "The Maharashtra government has asked Karnataka to increase the water discharge from Almatti dam to three lakh cusec from the current outflow of 2.5 lakh cusec." The water storage of Koyna dam in Maharashtra's Satara district increased by six thousand million cubic feet (TMC) in a very short period, and it is already 75 per cent filled, he said.

"It means, we need to discharge water from Koyna dam, which will increase the water levels of Krishna river," he said.

Koyna dam is built on the Koyna river and its storage capacity is 105 TMC. The Koyna river is the biggest tributary of the Krishna river, which flows to the south and enters Karnataka, crossing Sangli city and Kolhapur district.

Mahabaleshwar, one of the highest points in the Western Ghats in Satara, has witnessed very heavy rainfall over the last few days. In the last 24 hours, the region has received more than 400 mm of rainfall, an India Meteorological Department (IMD) official said.

The rainfall in Mahabaleshwar contributes to the storage of the Koyna dam.

"If water discharge is not increased from Almatti dam, then Sangli and parts of Kolhapur district will experience flooding, which will affect the citizens and incur heavy agricultural losses," he said.

"The water resources department also needs to release around 11,000 cusec water from Warna dam in Kolhapur that will further reach the Krishna river, increasing the chances of flooding. Hence, we requested the Almatti dam authorities to increase their discharge," Pawar said.

In the last few years, flooding in Sangli and Kolhapur districts have led to the death of people. The agricultural losses incurred from flooding have run into thousands of crores in recent years, revealed data from the state relief and disaster management department.