Hyderabad: The June 30 prediction by the India Meteorological Department (IMD) 30 that July will see even less rain than June could not have come at a worse time for Telangana, with its reservoirs slowly running low.
Major reservoirs on the Krishna and Godavari, as on July 1, had a combined ‘vacancy’ for nearly 400 tmc ft of water, which is only likely to worsen with the IMD’s forecast of less than 94 per cent of normal rainfall. The major catchment areas for the two rivers — located in Maharashtra and Karnataka — had a net deficit of 52 and 42 per cent respectively during June, a deficit rate that will require copious rain for the rest of the season to make up.
Major reservoirs on these two rivers in Telangana had 129.49 tmc ft of water against their capacity of 396.61 tmc ft, while medium reservoirs were holding 27.170 tmc ft against their combined capacity of 60.671 tmc ft. Cumulately, water in major and medium reservoirs as on July 1 stood at 156.66 tmc ft.
The catch for Telangana is that its state-level committee for integrated water planning and management (Swicam) had set aside 258.93 tmc ft under the command areas of the two rivers for the Kharif crop season, a figure far higher than what is now available for all needs, including those for drinking water.
But before any water in Krishna and Godavari can flow into Telangana, the rivers must first fill major reservoirs in the upstream states— Jaikawadi and Ujjaini in Maharashtra on the Godavari and Krishna, and Almatti and Narayanpur in Karnataka which between them will require 387.33 tmc ft of water to reach their full levels. It is typically after their reservoirs are full that the upper riparian states begin releasing water to the downstream states.
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Story so far
2025 Kharif allocation for irrigation: 258.93 tmc ft (Estimates for 2026 to be released this month)
Current storage: 167.36 tmc ft*
Total capacity: 456.28 tmc ft
Storage gap: 288.92 tmc ft
Current monsoon status
52% deficit in Maharashtra
42% deficit in Karnataka
9% deficit in Telangana (normal range)
Karnataka, Maharashtra need 387.33 tmc ft** to fill their major reservoirs
*Refers to major/medium reservoirs
**As on July 1, 2026
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: deccanchronicle.com
