India's water reservoirs at 51 percent of capacity: government

Date: 17-Aug-12
Country: INDIA
Author: Ratnajyoti Dutta

 

Water levels in India's main reservoirs were at 51 percent of capacity in the week to August 16, down 12 percentage points from a year ago, reflecting this year's weak monsoon, government data showed on Thursday.

The latest level was equal to the 10-year average for the week. It was 9 percentage points higher than the previous week, reflecting improvement in the monsoon since the last week of July.

Reservoirs are primarily they important for hydropower, which accounts for a quarter of India's generation capacity, but they are also used during the summer for irrigation if monsoon rains are not enough for planting crops such as cotton.

The reservoirs provide water later in the year to irrigate winter crops such as wheat and rapeseed.

(Reporting by Ratnajyoti Dutta)

Reuters

© Thomson Reuters 2012 All rights reserved