Vadodara/Gandhinagar:

The water level of Sardar Sarovar Narmada reservoir in Kevadia of Narmada district, known as the life-center of water-supply in Gujarat, has increased first time after monsoon last year in last 24 hours.

The water level has gone up to 105.48 meters (at 8 am this morning) from 105.42 meters (8 am yesterday). It is still rising as the inflow of water (6444 cusec) has exceeded the total outflow (3866 cusec).

Office of Director Canal Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Ltd (SSNNL) C V Nadpara today informed the the rise in inflow was owing to release of large quantity of water from neighbouring Madhya Pradesh.

Meanwhile, Chief Engineer of SSNNL (Narmada Dam and Vadodara region) P C Vyas confirmed that it was first time since last monsoon that the water level, even though marginally, has increased.

Notably, the supply of water from Sardar Sarovar Narmada dam for irrigation of Rabi crops was as per pre- announced schedule was completely stopped on March 16. It had resulted in lessening of over 5000 cusec of outflow rate from the largest water reservoir in Gujarat amid concerns over availability of enough water this summer. But the water level was still receding.

After the release of fresh water from MP, the water level was increasing.

A senior official of the SSNNL said that this increase was quite marginal ie only 6 cm in last 24 hours (from 8 am yesterday to 8 am today). ‘This is a temporary phenomenon and we will have to see as to for how long and how much the level increases. In any case there was no dearth of water for supply for drinking purposes in Gujarat to over 10000 villages and 150 towns dependent on Narmada water. Our discharge will be more or less around 3 to 4 thousand cusec for quite sometime and the inflow from MP would again come down to as low as 1500 to 2000 cuses and in that case the water level would again recede but that won’t be a concern as we already have enough stock for supply till next monsoon,’ he explained.

Notably, before the stopping of irrigation related flow the discharge flow rate on an average was around 9000 cusec and had that been the case today also, the water level would not have been increasing.

In any case, the likelihood of the water level touching the 110.64 meter mark again was quite faint. Above this water level only the electricity generation through the two hydel units of SSNNL starts. The units were shut since February 20 this year after the sliding of the water level below 110.64 meter.

Meanwhile it is learnt that the flow of water from MP side was quite temporary was a flow over part from the amount released to recharge the river for some religious fair on the bank of Narmada in the neighbouring state on the occasion of Chaitra Amavasya two days ago.

DeshGujarat