Mysuru: On Mar. 23, the KRS Dam had a storage of 29.112 tmcft, which was reduced to 28.330 tmcft by March 25 — indicating an outflow of 0.782 tmcft over two days.

Of this, approximately 0.2 tmcft is released daily into the canals, amounting to 0.4 tmcft over two days. Additionally, around 0.15 tmcft is released daily into the river, including for Bengaluru’s drinking water needs, totalling 0.3 tmcft over the same period. This brings the cumulative planned outflow to 0.7 tmcft over the two days.

However, the actual outflow was 0.782 tmcft, resulting in an excess flow of 0.082 tmcft as Gate 5 (at 80+ level) remained open. This translates to roughly 1,000 cusecs, but considering the prolonged discharge, officials estimate the excess flow to be around 1,500 cusecs.

Farmers allege manipulation

Meanwhile, farmers have alleged that the gates of the KRS Dam were deliberately manipulated during the night to divert water to Tamil Nadu.

They claim a significant amount of water — approximately 5,000 cusecs — was released under the pretence of technical faults.

Last June, heavy rainfall in the Cauvery catchment area brought the KRS Dam to full capacity. The Government had assured that water would be distributed in a regulated manner to support                                    summer crops.

However, incidents like this have left farmers questioning the security of their future agricultural plans if such unregulated water releases continue.