Fresh spell of rain boosts water level in major dams across Gujarat; aggregate stock now above 93%

The revival of monsoon activity in parts of Gujarat over the past few days has boosted the water level of reservoirs, with the stock in 207 major dams across the state rising to 93.44 per cent, officials said on Wednesday.

Of these 207 major dams, the Sardar Sarovar dam built over the Narmada river, which is considered the lifeline of the state, currently has 3.33 lakh million cubic feet (mcft) of water, which is 99.73 per cent of its total storage capacity, a release by the Gujarat government said.

As per the government figures, 54 dams are 100 per cent full, 90 dams, including the Sardar Sarovar Dam, have a water stock of 70 to 100 per cent of their storage capacity, 29 dams are filled up 50 to 70 per cent, 23 dams are filled up 25 to 50 per cent, while 10 dams have water less than 25 per cent of their capacity.

In all, 104 dams in Gujarat are filled up to 90 per cent and they have been put on 'high alert' as a precautionary measure, the government release said.

Parts of north Gujarat, Kutch and Saurashtra region have been witnessing rainfall over the past few days.

With the recent spell of showers, Gujarat's average rainfall for this year's monsoon season now stands at 101.08 per cent as the state has so far received 886 mm of the average annual rainfall, it said.

Kutch region received 158.73 per cent of its average annual rainfall, Saurashtra region 119.68 per cent, east-central region 96.11 per cent, north Gujarat 95.52 per cent and south Gujarat received 88.31 per cent of the average rainfall, the release said.

Several parts of the Kutch and Saurashtra regions of the state received heavy rainfall in the last 24 hours ending 6 am on Wednesday, it said.

Lakhpat taluka of Kutch district received 171 mm of rainfall during the 24-hour period ending 6 am on Wednesday. It was followed by Rapar taluka of Kutch (124 mm), Nakhatrana taluka of Kutch (113 mm), Maliya taluka of Morbi (101 mm), Bhuj of Kutch (94 mm), Tankara of Morbi (86 mm) and Jamnagar of Jamnagar district (82 mm), the release said.