Sardar Sarovar Dam just 2 metres away from full reservoir level; villages in Bharuch alerted

Rajpipla: Owing to good rainfall in catchment areas in Madhya Pradesh, the water level of Gujarat's Sardar Sarovar Dam went up to 136.43 metres on Saturday, over two metres short of its full reservoir level, officials said.

With an outflow of around 3.5 lakh cusec from the dam, authorities in Bharuch district downstream the Narmada river have asked villages located in the low-lying areas to stay alert.

The water level of the Sardar Sarovar Dam, located at Kevadia in Narmada district, has risen to 136.43 metres, the highest for the current season, officials of the Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Limited (SSNNL) said. The full reservoir level of the dam is 138.68 metres.

As per SSNNL, the dam has received an average of over 4.37 lakh cusec water in the latest inflow, causing the authorities to release nearly 3.45 lakh cusec water.

In a post on X, the Bharuch Collector on Friday night requested people living in low-lying areas close to the Narmada river to take precautionary measures as the release of water from the dam raised the water level of Narmada river.

In his post, Collector Tushar Sumera said, "At present, 3.25 lakh cusec of water is being released into Narmada river from Sardar Sarovar dam and Narmada is flowing at a level of 20.20 feet. Which is close to the warning level (22 feet). So citizens living in low lying areas are requested to be careful." The Sardar Sarovar project is one of the largest water resources projects in India covering four major states - Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan. It is responsible for irrigation of 1.85 million hectares of land in Gujarat and 0.24 million hectares in neighbouring Rajasthan, and supplies drinking water for three crore people.

As per the data shared by the State Emergency Operation Centre (SEOC), Sardar Sarovar Dam is 92 per cent full of its total storage capacity, with 206 reservoirs in the state being 86 per cent full of their total storage capacities.

As many as 146 reservoirs remain on high alert, and 11 others on alert, the SAEOC said.

Gujarat has so far received 124.66 percent of average annual rainfall for the current season, with Kutch alone receiving 183.342 percent of rains.