Water level in 91 major reservoirs dips

New Delhi : The water level in 91 major reservoirs across the country has gone down to 62 per cent of their total storage capacity from 64 per cent last week, according to an official statement.

As of November 23, the water storage in the reservoirs was 101.77 billion cubic metres (BCM). It has now decreased to 98.578 BCM for the week ending November 30.The latest water levels in the reservoirs are 96 per cent of the storage reported during the corresponding period last year, the Union water resources ministry said in the statement.The water stock is 95 per cent of the decadal average, the statement added.

The reservoirs in states such as Punjab, Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Odisha, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Telangana have reported lesser storage level than last year.Major dams in Himachal Pradesh, West Bengal, Tripura, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu have reported better storage level vis-a-vis the corresponding period last year.

The total storage capacity of the 91 reservoirs is 157.799 BCM which is about 62 per cent of the total storage capacity of 253.388 BCM, which is estimated to have been created in the country.Thirty-seven of these reservoirs have hydropower benefit with installed capacity of more than 60 MW.