Gates of Jayakwadi dam opened

Mumbai: Two gates of Jayakwadi dam were opened on Thursday. Officials said that 1,048 cusecs of water are being released into Godavari river, which will provide relief to the drought-hit Marathwada. The state water resources department said water is being released in a controlled manner through the barrages.

District Collector Uday Choudhary gave directions to release water from Nathsagar, the dam’s reservoir. Following heavy rains in Nashik district in the last fifteen days, useful water content of Jayakwadi dam reached 91.99 percent on Thursday.  

“We are continuously monitoring the release of water. There is a drought in the central Godavari valley, while the Nathsagar is full. Therefore, we needed to release water from Nathsagar and fill the dams on the river,” said an official from the water resource department.

In addition to the release of 1,048 cusecs of water, the authorities are also releasing 1,200 cusecs of water from the left canal, 900 cusecs from the right canal, and 1,589 cusecs of water from the hydropower project. It is to be noted that the dam was filled only upto 28 per cent of its live capacity during the corresponding period last year.

Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Depart-ment (IMD) that upstream areas of Jayakwadi dam are not likely to witness rainfall activity. Marathwada districts have received over 75 per cent of the average rainfall for this time of the year though some talukas continue to face water scarcity.

Located in Paithan, the Jayakwadi dam across the Godavari is the chief source of water supply for the region's major industries.