<p>New Delhi: India's main reservoirs have hit their lowest March levels in five years, government data showed, indicating a possible squeeze on drinking water and power availability this summer.</p><p>In major centres such as Bengaluru, home to firms like Google, <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/opinion/editorial/think-long-term-to-address-water-crisis-2940756">water supply is already being curtailed</a>.</p><p>The 150 reservoirs monitored by the central government - which supply water for drinking and irrigation and are the country's key source of hydro-electricity - were filled to just 40 per cent of capacity last week, government data showed.</p><p>In <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/india/karnataka/state-s-grain-yield-may-drop-by-31l-tonnes-this-year-2940793">Karnataka</a>, the main reservoir was down to 16 per cent capacity.</p><p>Water reserves are the lowest for March since 2019, when reservoir capacity fell to 35 per cent and saw cities such as Chennai run out of water.</p>.Winters abruptly transitioning into summer-like conditions in north India: Analysis.<p>The situation could escalate the crisis in central and southern cities which face extreme heatwaves in April and May. The water resources get replenished only around June with pre-monsoon and monsoon rains.</p><p>In other industrial states such as Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and agricultural states Uttar Pradesh and Punjab levels are below their 10-year averages.</p><p>Longer term, there is a risk of water wars if governments do not act now, said Sandeep Anirudhan, convener of the Coalition for Water Security.</p><p>The low water levels follow a monsoon season last year that saw the lightest rains since 2018, after the El Nino weather pattern made last August the driest in more than a century. The monsoon was also uneven, with some areas receiving more rain than others.</p><p>A senior official in the power ministry said the ministry is monitoring reservoir levels but does not yet anticipate a situation that could lead to a shutdown of plants.</p>.Bengaluru schools request BWSSB to supply water on priority .<p>"If the situation becomes worse due to lack of rains, drinking water supply will get priority over power generation," he said.</p><p>The water resources ministry and the water commission did not respond to e-mailed requests for immediate comment.</p><p>India's hydro generation in the 10 months from the beginning of the current financial year which began last April is down 17 per cent despite strong electricity demand.</p><p>Hydropower generation in Asia has plunged at the fastest rate in decades amid sharp declines in China and India.</p>
<p>New Delhi: India's main reservoirs have hit their lowest March levels in five years, government data showed, indicating a possible squeeze on drinking water and power availability this summer.</p><p>In major centres such as Bengaluru, home to firms like Google, <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/opinion/editorial/think-long-term-to-address-water-crisis-2940756">water supply is already being curtailed</a>.</p><p>The 150 reservoirs monitored by the central government - which supply water for drinking and irrigation and are the country's key source of hydro-electricity - were filled to just 40 per cent of capacity last week, government data showed.</p><p>In <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/india/karnataka/state-s-grain-yield-may-drop-by-31l-tonnes-this-year-2940793">Karnataka</a>, the main reservoir was down to 16 per cent capacity.</p><p>Water reserves are the lowest for March since 2019, when reservoir capacity fell to 35 per cent and saw cities such as Chennai run out of water.</p>.Winters abruptly transitioning into summer-like conditions in north India: Analysis.<p>The situation could escalate the crisis in central and southern cities which face extreme heatwaves in April and May. The water resources get replenished only around June with pre-monsoon and monsoon rains.</p><p>In other industrial states such as Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and agricultural states Uttar Pradesh and Punjab levels are below their 10-year averages.</p><p>Longer term, there is a risk of water wars if governments do not act now, said Sandeep Anirudhan, convener of the Coalition for Water Security.</p><p>The low water levels follow a monsoon season last year that saw the lightest rains since 2018, after the El Nino weather pattern made last August the driest in more than a century. The monsoon was also uneven, with some areas receiving more rain than others.</p><p>A senior official in the power ministry said the ministry is monitoring reservoir levels but does not yet anticipate a situation that could lead to a shutdown of plants.</p>.Bengaluru schools request BWSSB to supply water on priority .<p>"If the situation becomes worse due to lack of rains, drinking water supply will get priority over power generation," he said.</p><p>The water resources ministry and the water commission did not respond to e-mailed requests for immediate comment.</p><p>India's hydro generation in the 10 months from the beginning of the current financial year which began last April is down 17 per cent despite strong electricity demand.</p><p>Hydropower generation in Asia has plunged at the fastest rate in decades amid sharp declines in China and India.</p>