Pune: Khadakwasla discharge up to 16,000 cusecs, Mutha swells

PUNE: The discharge of water from the Khadakwasla dam into the Mutha river was increased to 16,247 cusecs on Thursday with heavy spells of rain continuing in the catchment.
The release was maintained at the rate of 1,000 cusecs in the morning and was gradually increased up to 11,704 cusecs by afternoon and 16,247 by late evening. The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) issued an alert for people living in the low lying areas along the river as a precautionary measure.

The Baba Bhide bridge near Deccan Gymkhana and the riverside road, which were open for vehicles as the water level in the river remained low till afternoon, were closed for traffic late in the evening after the water discharge was increased.
An irrigation department official said water would be released from the Khadakwasla dam on Friday as well if the catchment continued to receive heavy spells of rain.
The PMC activated its helplines for use in case of emergency and to deal with instances of flooding following the water discharge from the Khadakwasla dam. The disaster management cell of the district administration issued a warning to the PMC to avoid parking of vehicles on the roads along the Mutha and stop people from going near the river.
The water storage in the Khadakwasla dam reached its full capacity of 1.97 TMC on Wednesday for the first time this rainy season.
The irrigation department also started releasing water from Vir and Kalmodi dams in the Bhima basin after the stock in both the reservoirs reached their full capacities. The release from Vir was increased to 23,000 cusecs by Thursday evening.
The irrigation department also issued an alert on the possibility of water release from the Mulshi dam in the next couple of days. The water storage in the dam reached 73% of its capacity on Thursday. Water released from Mulshi flows in to Pavana and then in to the Mula-Mutha. It flows further to the Bhima river.