Sardar Sarovar dam level rises, 11m short of full capacity

The water level of the Sardar Sarovar Dam over Narmada river has reached 127.46 metres, just 11 metres short of its maximum capacity, as the monsoon arrives in the state. The water level of the dam had reached it's highest level in September last year for the first time since its height was raised in 2017.

Ahmedabad: Though the monsoon has just arrived in Gujarat, the water level of the Sardar Sarovar Dam over Narmada river is rising fast and has reached 127.46 metres, just 11 metres short of its maximum capacity, officials said on Thursday.

With the fresh inflow of upstream water, mainly from the Omkareshwar and Indira Sagar dams located in Madhya Pradesh, the live water storage of the dam has reached up to 2,700 million cubic metres, they said.

"The water level of the reservoir has reached 127.46 metres," Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Limited Director P C Vyas said.

This is just just 11.22 metres short of its full reservoir level of 138.68 metres.

In September last year, the water level of the dam, located at Kevadiya in Gujarat's Narmada district, reached its highest capacity at 138.68 metres for the first time since its height was raised in 2017.

Vyas said with an inflow of around 40,000 cusecs, both the river-bed and the canal-head power houses on the dam have been started from Wednesday.

While five river-bed power houses are generating 1,000 MW electricity, two canal-head power houses are generating 100 MW at present, he said.

As a result, 7,000 cusecs of water is being discharged into the Narmada main canal, while 33,000 cusecs is going into the Narmada river downstream.

"At present, both the river-bed and canal-head power houses are generating around 17 to 20 million units of electricity worth Rs 3.5 crore to Rs 4 crore every day," Vyas said.

Simultaneously, the water discharged into the main canal is being utilised to fill up dry lakes and for drinking and agriculture purposes through canal network, he added.

PTI