Maharashtra: Ujani dam releases 40,000 cusecs of water as storage nears 75%
The early release, triggered by sustained rainfall since May 9, marks an unprecedented rise in water levels of Ujani, one of the largest dams in Maharashtra, earlier than usual
The Ujani dam in Maharashtra’s Solapur district released 40,000 cusecs of water on Tuesday morning for the first time ever in June.
The early release, triggered by sustained rainfall since May 9, marks an unprecedented rise in water levels of Ujani, one of the largest dams in Maharashtra, earlier than usual.
“With storage crossing 70% over the past few days, we initiated controlled water release. As of this morning, the outflow has reached 40,000 cusecs,” said Raosaheb More, executive engineer, Ujani dam Project.
“Never before has Ujani seen such levels in June,” he added.
According to the latest data from the state water resources department, Ujani’s live storage stood at 74.17% (1,125.38 million cubic metres) of its total useful capacity as of June 24. This marks a dip from 76.58% (1,161.80 MCM) recorded the previous day at 8am. On the same date last year, the dam had zero usable stock.
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Officials attribute the surge in water levels to timely upstream releases and early monsoon runoff — a crucial relief for the drought-prone Solapur region and downstream areas dependent on the dam for irrigation and drinking water.
The robust storage at Ujani mirrors an improved water scenario across the state. Maharashtra’s overall dam storage stood at 40.24% of its total live capacity as of June 24, a significant improvement over 20.19% on the same date last year. The early monsoon surge has helped bridge the shortfall caused by a dry pre-monsoon spell earlier this month.
Among regions, Konkan leads with the highest reservoir storage at 49.66%, followed by Pune division at 44.93%. Nashik holds 39.40%, Amravati 38.99%, and Nagpur 31.24%. The Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar division continues to lag with 32.67% storage, though markedly better than last year’s 9.22% on the same date.
