The water discharge from Almatti dam in neighbouring Karnataka has been increased to two lakh cusecs. Thus, brining huge relief to Sangli, Satara and Kolhapur districts in Western Maharashtra.
With incessant rains the water levels dams has steadily risen. As against its maximum water storage capacity of 123 TMC, presently dams water level has been retained at 117 TMC.
The higher water discharge from Almatti dam is necessary to avoid floods in Kolhapur, Satara and Sangli districts.
Highly placed sources revealed till Wednesday afternoon the discharge from Almatti was 1.50 lakh cusecs. It was gradually raised to 1.75 lakh cusecs and then 2 lakh cuses.
With rains lashing some parts of Western Maharashtra, the catch areas in Koyna Dam and Krishna River have shown high water rise. Within 24 hours the water in catchment areas increased by 4.75 TMC.
A team of engineers and technical experts in water resources department are closely monitoring the Almatti dam water levels. All river basins and catchment areas are monitored to ensure quick water discharge to avoid floods.
In 2019, floods in Kolhapur, Satara and Sangli adversely affected the people in these Western Maharashtra districts. The water level in Almatti dam then was raised to five lakh cusecs.