Bhopal: Water level drops in Kolar reservoir, Upper Lake as mercury soars

As the mercury soars in Bhopal, the water levels in the Kolar reservoir and the Upper Lake - the lifelines of Bhopal - have gone down by 26.7 feet and 4.6 feet respectively, compared to the water levels on the same day last year.

Updated on: May 19, 2015, 22:48:12 IST

Hindustan Times | By Neeraj Santoshi, Bhopal

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As the mercury soars in the city, the water levels in the Kolar reservoir and the Upper Lake - the lifelines of Bhopal - have gone down by 26.7 feet and 4.6 feet respectively, compared to the water levels on the same day last year.

According-to-World-Meteorological-Organisation-2015-could-be-the-warmest-year-on-record-HT-photo

The Kolar reservoir holds around 265 million cubic metres of water at its full capacity, but it has come down to 26.3 million cubic metres this year.

In simple terms, the reservoir is holding a mere 10 percent of its full capacity at present.

Last year, at this time, the reservoir was full up to 33 percent of its full capacity.

The Kolar reservoir supplies drinking water to nearly 50 to 60 percent of the city's population, while the Upper Lake supplies water to around 40% of the residents in Bhopal.

Every day, around 25 million gallons (MGD) of water is drawn from Upper Lake, while the quantum of water drawn from Kolar is around 30 to 34 MGD.

SK Aggarwal, sub-divisional officer in the water resources department at Birpur in Hoshangabad, said the water level in the Kolar reservoir had gone down due to the searing heat this month.

"On May 19 last year, the level in Kolar reservoir was 449.75 metres above the sea level (1475.5 feet) which has come down to 441.60 metres (1448.81) on Tuesday," he said.

Bhopal Municipal Corporation assistant engineer (water) Rakesh Nigam said the heat wave over the last few weeks had increased the rate of evaporation in reservoirs.

The water level in the Upper Lake had plummeted from 1661.30 feet on May 19 last year to 1656.70 feet on Tuesday, he said.

However, officials claimed that this downslide in the water levels will not affect the water supply soon, and with monsoons expected to arrive in the first week of June, these water bodies will get replenished.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Neeraj Santoshi
Neeraj Santoshi is the Chief of Bureau for Hindustan Times in Uttarakhand, where he leads the state reporting team while covering government, politics, environment, wildlife, Uttarakhand High Court, and issues shaping the Himalayan region. With more than two decades in journalism across conflict zones, he has covered politically sensitive regions and environmentally fragile landscapes, and focused on stories that combine public interest with in-depth storytelling. An alumnus of Pune University with a Master’s in Communication Studies, he has reported extensively from Jammu & Kashmir (2003-2010), Madhya Pradesh (2010 to 2018 ) and Uttarakhand (Since 2018), covering subjects ranging from insurgency, elections and governance to wildlife conservation, mining, climate change, agriculture, human rights and social justice. He has covered politics and legislative assemblies of both Jammu & Kashmir and Madhya Pradesh over more than a decade. Before taking over as Chief of Bureau in Uttarakhand, he served as Special Correspondent with Hindustan Times in Madhya Pradesh and earlier reported for both Hindustan Times and The Indian Express in Jammu & Kashmir, where he covered state politics, environment and insurgency-related developments. Over the years, his stories have focused on environmental degradation, wildlife, illegal mining, governance and the changing social fabric of Himalayan states and Central India. He is particularly interested in long-form explanatory journalism, and stories that explore the intersection of ecology, conservation, governance and society. Outside the newsroom, Neeraj enjoys reading widely on neuroscience, consciousness studies, Artificial Intelligence and quantum physics, with a special interest in Kashmiri Tantric Shaivist traditions. He is also passionate about wildlife, mountaineering and the Himalayas, interests that continue to inform his reporting and deepen his understanding of the region he covers.Read More

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