Regional Commissioner approves release of 4,105 tmcft from Narayanpur reservoir to meet drinking water needs of Kalaburagi

File photo of Narayanpur Reservoir.

With large parts of Kalaburagi district facing water scarcity, the regional commissioner has approved the release of 4,105 tmcft of water from Narayanpur reservoir to meet the drinking water requirements of people and livestock in both urban and rural areas.

Deputy Commissioner Ikram Shariff said the approval was given on the basis of a proposal submitted by the district administration on the basis of requests from the Department of Minor Irrigation, Kalaburagi Municipal Corporation, Krishna Bhagya Jala Nigam Limited, Afzalpur Municipal Council and tahsildars of Yadrami and Jewargi taluks.

He said the decision was taken in view of the drought prevailing in the district, the top priority of the need for drinking water. The water has already been released after approval by the regional governor.

According to the deputy commissioner, heavy rainfall in Maharashtra over the past week has substantially increased inflows into the Krishna, resulting in higher storage and inflows in the Almatti and Narayanpur reservoirs.

Taking advantage of the improved water availability, the government has approved the release of water to Kalaburagi district in response to demands from farmers and the public.

Out of the total allocation, 1 tmcft each will be supplied to Sonna, Ghattarga and Kallur barrages in Afzalpur taluk through IBC and JBC canals of Narayanpur reservoir. Another 0.80 tmcft will be released to the barrage at Saradgi, while 0.305 tmcft will be supplied to reservoirs under the minor irrigation department to supply villages in Jewargi and Yadrami taluks.

Mr. Shariff directed the departments concerned to accord top priority to potable water supply, ensure judicious use of discharged water and take all necessary measures for its proper management and distribution.

According to information provided by the authorities, the Narayanpur reservoir had a water level of 492.09 meters at 8 am on Sunday, which is close to the full reservoir level (FRL) of 492.25 meters. The reservoir had an average inflow of 52,370 cusecs in the previous 24 hours, while the average outflow for the same period was 32,686 cusecs. The current flow into the river was 24,560 cusecs. The reservoir’s gross storage stood at 32.56 tmcft, representing 97.75% of its total capacity of 33,313 tmcft, while real-time storage was 17.80 tmcft against full live storage capacity of 18,553 tmcft.

Published – 26 Jul 2026 22:02 IST