Indravati Reservoir Dries Up: Power Generation and Farming at Risk
Water Level Drops to Just 9%, Experts Warn of Looming Power and Irrigation Crisis
The Indravati Reservoir is running dangerously low on water, storing only 9.668% of its full capacity, according to recent reports. This is nearly 4% less than last year on the same date, when the level stood at 13.025%. As of 8 AM today, the water level has dropped to *627.29 meters, which is already causing a serious impact on power production.
The total water stored in the 110-square-kilometer area reservoir is only 14,362 hectare meters. Experts blame the low rainfall last year for the poor water situation. Indravati, known as Asia’s second-largest river dam, suffered a similar drop in water levels last year, leading to reduced electricity output.
Due to the shortfall, the Mukhiguda Power Station—which has four turbines of 150 MW capacity—has been unable to run at full strength. In fact, the entire power generation was shut down in December. Since January 6, power has only been generated with one or two turbines operating at a time.
Today, the water inflow into the reservoir is only 24.213 cubic meters per second (cumec), while about 37.477 cumec of water is being released into the Hati Barrage after power generation. From there, it flows into the Tel River, and later joins the Mahanadi.
Moreover, 5.15 cumec of water is being discharged per second through the Indravati sluice gate, and the same amount is being lost to evaporation. At present, the daily electricity output is around 2,698 megawatt-hours, which averages about 112.417 MW per hour*.
Environmentalists and officials are worried. If there is no rainfall in key upstream areas like Tentukhi (Nabarangpur), Kashipur and Tikiri (Rayagada), and Dashmantpur, Borigumma (Koraput), the situation will get worse.
If the water level keeps falling, power generation may stop completely, and farmers in Kalahandi district could lose access to water for irrigation. Experts also warn this could lead to serious environmental damage.
To prevent a full-blown crisis, immediate rainfall is needed in the upper catchment areas. Without it, the region faces both power shortages and agricultural losses in the coming months.
