Torrential rains bring abundant water into Tirumala reservoirs
The Hindu
Record rainfall in Tirumala fills drinking water projects to capacity, ensuring water supply for 270 days.
The incessant rainfall over the past four days has brought copious flow into the various drinking water projects at Tirumala, which is sufficient to meet the drinking water requirements of the town for the next 270 days, according to officials.
All five major drinking water projects atop the town including the Papavinasanam, Akasa Ganga, Kumardhara Pasupudhara and Gogarbham were near full to their capacity. The water reservoirs, crucial for meeting the drinking water needs of millions of devotees thronging the town every year, reached record levels by noon on Tuesday (December 3).
According to the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) water works department, the Papavinasanam dam, the biggest of all reservoirs, recorded a water level of 697.00 metres as against its Full Reservoir Level (FRL) of 697.14 metres. The dam currently holds 5,192.54 lakh gallons of water against its total storage capacity of 5,240 lakh gallons.
Similarly, while the water level at the Gogarbham dam touched its FRL level of 2,894 feet with a holding capacity of over 2,833 lakh gallons, the twin projects, Kumaradhara and Pasupudhara projects were slightly below their FRL level of 898.24 metres holding 3,440.32 and 966.31 lakh gallons of water respectively.
The Akasaganga dam constructed on the upper reaches of the Papavinasanam dam also fell slightly below its FRL level of 865.00 metres with a current storage of 645 lakh gallons against its total capacity of 685 lakh gallons.
Officials expressed relief over the current water storages and said that the water reserves are bound to increase in the next couple of weeks amid expectations of another bout of rains. The TTD on Sunday (December 1) had already lifted spillway gates of the Gogarbham dam allowing the extra water to flow down the hilly terrains.
However, with rainfall persisting, the authorities have advised caution to mitigate potential risks arising from the overflowing dams.
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