Bhawanipatna: Power production and irrigation facilities may get seriously affected as the Indravati reservoir situated in Kalahandi district has not witnessed a rise in water level even after the end of July. Apprehensions remain among the farming community in the area that a shortage of water in the dam will hit them hard. The western district witnessed heavy rainfall triggered by a low-pressure area in the Bay of Bengal at the start of this month but that has failed to increase the water level in the reservoir. The water level in the reservoir is three metres less than the previous year which has caused serious concern.
Currently, the water level in the reservoir stands at 630.68 metres while it was 633.11 metres at this time last year. The reservoir receives water from Indravati, Kapur, Muran and Podagad rivers. The water level has failed to rise in the reservoir due to inadequate rainfall on upstream of the rivers, departmental sources said. Sources said that the Indravati reservoir is spread over 2,600 sq km area while its maximum water retaining capacity is 642 metre. Power production from the reservoir started in 1999 on an experimental basis. The Indravati project is construed as one of the important multi-purpose projects of the country. The reservoir of the project is located on the fringes of the Kalahandi and Nabarangpur districts. The establishment of this project has turned Kalahandi, which was once known for its abject hunger, into a rice bowl making the district’s farmers self-reliant.
Later, four turbines were installed in the reservoir which produced 600 MW of power. Power generated from the reservoir was later supplied to people and it is now helping meet the state’s energy demand.
On the other hand, the water discharged from the reservoir was collected and supplied through the left, right dykes of Mangalpur barrage and lift irrigation points to provide water to the farmlands. Water supplied through left, right dykes of Mangalpur barrage and lift irrigation points are now being used to irrigate 1,12,866.04 hectare of farmlands in 429 villages under the eight blocks of Lanjigarh, Dharmagarh, Junagarh and Bhawanipatna Assembly segments in the district. The irrigation facility from the reservoir is now benefitting around 99,172 farmer families in the district. Environmentalists alleged that the lack of adequate rainfall is due to rampant depletion in forest cover in order to make way for a host of mining activities being taken up in the district.
As a result, rainfall in the area is gradually declining year by year. This development has pushed the farmers in the region into distress. If urgent measures are not taken immediately then the water level in the reservoir may decline further in the coming days which will simultaneously affect power production and irrigation facilities in the district.