A KNNL notification says that the Tungabhadra Dam at Hosapete has not received sufficient inflows due to the prevailing deficit in rainfall.
| Photo Credit: FILE PHOTO
The State government has decided not to release water from the Tungabhadra reservoir into the Right Bank and Left Bank canals for the ongoing kharif season owing to inadequate storage caused by deficient rainfall in the reservoir’s catchment area.
In a notification issued on Thursday, Superintending Engineer, Karnataka Neeravari Nigam Limited (KNNL), Tungabhadra Project Circle, Munirabad, S.B. Malligawad, who is Member-Secretary of the Tungabhadra Project and Vijayanagara Canals Irrigation Advisory Committee, said that the reservoir has not received sufficient inflows due to the prevailing deficit in rainfall.
As a result, water cannot be released through the canal network for irrigation during the current monsoon season, he said.
In accordance with the State government’s directions, the water available in the reservoir will be reserved exclusively for drinking requirements.
The department has appealed to farmers in the Tungabhadra command area to cooperate with the authorities in view of the prevailing water scarcity.
It has said that if the region receives adequate rainfall in the coming days and the reservoir fills sufficiently, the Irrigation Advisory Committee will convene to review the storage position and take a decision on releasing water for agricultural purposes.
Insufficient storage
The decision comes at a time when farmers across the Tungabhadra command area are awaiting irrigation water for the kharif season amid delayed and deficient monsoon rainfall.
According to the latest data released by the Tungabhadra Dam authorities on Thursday, the reservoir held only 9.313 tmcft of water against its full storage capacity of 105.788 tmcft, with the water level standing at 1,587.83 ft as against the full reservoir level (FRL) of 1,633 ft.
The reservoir recorded no inflow during the previous 24 hours ended at 8 a.m. on Thursday, while an average of 176 cusecs is being released through the canal system.
By contrast, on the corresponding day last year, the reservoir contained 77.144 tmcft of water and received 32,767 cusecs inflow.
The notification assumes significance as it comes barely days after the successful completion of the replacement of all 33 crest gates of the dam, a major engineering exercise undertaken following the collapse of one of the original gates during the 2024 monsoon.
The new gates have restored the reservoir to its designed storage capacity and substantially enhanced the safety and reliability of the decades-old structure.
The newly installed crest gates were recently inaugurated jointly by Union Jal Shakti Minister C.R. Patil, Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu and Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy.
However, despite the upgraded infrastructure, the reservoir continues to await substantial monsoon inflows, with irrigation releases remaining contingent on a significant improvement in rainfall across the Tungabhadra catchment area.
Published – July 02, 2026 09:26 pm IST
