El Niño hits Telangana Reservoirs hard: Krishna, Godavari reservoir storage drops sharply

<p>HYDERABAD: Telangana Minister for Irrigation, Uttam Kumar Reddy, presented detailed data in the Legislative Assembly to highlight the severity of Telangana’s water crisis due to El Niño. He noted that, out of a total gross storage capacity of 585 TMC (thousand million cubic feet), the Godavari and Krishna river basins currently hold only 241 TMC, compared [...]<content:encoded><![CDATA[<strong>HYDERABAD:</strong> Telangana Minister for Irrigation, Uttam Kumar Reddy, presented detailed data in the Legislative Assembly to highlight the severity of Telangana’s water crisis due to El Niño. He noted that, out of a total gross storage capacity of 585 TMC (thousand million cubic feet), the Godavari and Krishna river basins currently hold only 241 TMC, compared with 497 TMC on the same date last year. <h2>Krishna basin</h2> He emphasized the significant year-on-year drop in reservoir levels. On September 17, 2025, the Srisailam Reservoir held 153.56 TMC of water, on the same date in 2026, it holds only 61 TMC, a decline of 92 TMC. Currently, the live storage in Srisailam is only 38 percent of its total capacity. At Nagarjuna Sagar, the live storage on September 17, 2025 was 174 TMC, while on the same date in 2026 it is only 44 TMC, a reduction of 129 TMC. At present, only 25 percent of the reservoir’s live storage capacity is available. The Minister said the data for these two major reservoirs in the Krishna basin highlight the need for careful planning of water releases. <h2><strong>Godavari basin</strong></h2> Turning to key projects in the Godavari basin, he reported that at Sriram Sagar Project (SRSP), the live storage on this date last year was 65 TMC, while this year it is only 31 TMC, a shortfall of nearly 34 TMC. At present, only 49 percent of SRSP’s live storage capacity is available. At Singur Reservoir, live storage was 17 TMC last year but is only 3.5 TMC this year, with just 12 percent of storage available. He also noted that dam safety repairs at Singur are underway. At Lower Manair Dam, live storage was 21.39 TMC last year and is 8.95 TMC this year. The Minister also stated that, as of this date last year, the major and medium irrigation projects in the Krishna basin had a combined live storage of 333 TMC out of a total capacity of 361 TMC. This year, the live storage is only 120 TMC. In the Godavari basin, live storage was 164 TMC out of 224 TMC last year, and is now 121 TMC. The Minister said these statistics clearly illustrate the severity of the water crisis. He explained that these facts are being presented to the House so all members are informed of the situation and can acknowledge the reality. He added that water availability varies by project, with some reservoirs in better condition than others, and that extreme caution is required in managing water releases. ]]>