For the first time in recent years, the twin waterfalls of Shivanasamudra spread over Mandya and Chamarajanagar districts have come alive thanks to incessant rains in the catchment areas of the Cauvery and the Kabini.
Though there is no discharge from Krishnaraja Sagar reservoir yet, the outflow from Kabini reservoir in H.D. Kote, which is at the rate of nearly 50,000 cusecs, has increased the grandeur of the falls, which is set to fuel monsoon tourism in the region.
The outflow from Kabini has been constantly hovering above 35,000 cusecs in the past few days and peaked at around 50,000 cusecs on Wednesday evening, before it was reduced to 47,375 cusecs to match the inflow, pegged at 47,547 cusecs, on Thursday morning. The reservoir level was 2,282.09 ft, as against the full level of 2,284 ft, and the authorities are maintaining a buffer of nearly 2 ft as a safety measure given the heavy rains in the catchment area of the river upstream of the dam. Hence, the volume of discharge may be further stepped up, depending on the rains.
The water level at the KRS on Thursday morning was hovering at 117.70 ft, against the FRL of 124.80 ft, and the inflow was at the rate of 37,783 cusecs. With the Central Water Commission (CWC) issuing an advisory that the KRS could attain FRL in the next couple of days because of increase in inflow, the authorities may begin a graduated release that will only add to the volume of water in the falls.
Already, people from Mysuru, Mandya and Chamarajanagar are flocking to the twin waterfalls — Gaganachukki, which is in Mandya district, and Bharachukki, which is in Chamarajanagar district, and separated by nearly 2 km — to savour their grandeur, which will only be further enhanced once there is outflow from the KRS, expected later this week.
The forthcoming weekend could see a veritable rush of domestic tourists to the waterfalls, which are about 80 km from Mysuru and also approachable via Malavalli for tourists from Bengaluru. These waterfalls are seasonal and are best viewed when the outflow from the two reservoirs is high, as is the case now.
‘Jalapathotsava’ likely this year
The heavy rains coupled with good inflow to the major reservoirs in the Cauvery basin is expected to revive the concept of ‘Jalapathotsava’, or the festival of waterfalls, in the State this year.
It was last conducted in 2014 and the State government is likely to promote it to encourage tourism. “People are already flocking to the twin falls and there is virtually a mad rush during weekends. But it is likely the festival with cultural programmes will take place later in August,” said P. Janardhan, Deputy Director, Department of Tourism in Mysuru.
He told The Hindu that apart from Jalapathotsava, there are long-term plans to develop the two waterfalls, for which the government has released ₹5 crore in this year’s budget. In addition, the Chunchanakatte falls near K.R. Nagar is attracting tourists and a detailed project report is being readied to develop it.