Pune: The irrigation department on Thursday evening began releasing water from the Khadakwasla dam into the Mutha river at a rate of 4,000 cusec after the reservoir’s live storage hit 100% at 1.97 TMC, following continuous heavy rainfall over the past two days.With this, collective storage in four dams in the Khadakwasla circle reached 21.7 TMC (nearly 75% of total capacity) after increasing by about 1.5 TMC in the 24 hours ending Thursday evening. The total stock has climbed from 3.65 TMC (around 12.5%) on June 30 to 21.7 TMC now — a gain of 18 TMC over 23 days, which is roughly equal to the city’s annual water quota.The department issued a warning to residents living along the riverbank as significant inflows continued into the reservoir. This is the second water release from Khadakwasla into the Mutha river this month. A similar discharge was carried out during the first week of July after heavy rainfall in the catchment areas.Officials said the dam’s storage had been maintained at around 70% earlier, but persistent rainfall over the last five days led to a sharp rise in water levels, pushing the reservoir to full capacity. “The discharge from Khadakwasla can be increased further if inflows remain strong. Pune Municipal Corporation has been alerted about the possibility of rising water levels in the Mutha river,” an official said. The discharge was increased to 9,400 cusec late into the night.PMC officials said teams had been deployed in low-lying and flood-prone areas, and precautionary announcements were being made to help residents move to safer locations, if required.Meanwhile, the irrigation department continued releasing water from the Mulshi dam into the Mula river at 8,100 cusec for the second consecutive day. Mulshi’s storage level reached 84% on Thursday evening. The dam has received more than 3,800mm of rainfall this season, the highest among major dams in Pune district.The department also increased water discharge from Chaskaman dam to 10,000 cusec, while release from Veer dam was stepped up to 4,500 cusec.
