Inflow of 3286 cusecs in the Koyna dam owing to good rains in the Satara region

Kolhapur: Rains over the last 36 hours till Monday evening boosted inflows into the Koyna dam, Maharashtra’s largest reservoir, bringing much-needed relief to citizens in Satara, Sangli and Kolhapur.

The dam recorded an inflow of 3,286 cusecs at 5 pm on Monday, raising live storage from 8.79 TMC to 9.21 TMC after it had dropped to its lowest level in 12 years.In the 24 hours till 5 pm, Navaja recorded 112 mm of rainfall, followed by Koyna with 87 mm and Mahabaleshwar with 72 mm. The dam’s live storage stood at 9.10%, while gross storage was 13.15%.Kolhapur city and several parts of the district received light showers under overcast skies.

The district recorded 15 mm of rainfall in the 24 hours till 11 am. Shahuwadi received the highest rainfall at 31 mm, followed by Karvir and Kolhapur city at 22.1 mm, while Shirol recorded the lowest at 0.6 mm.The return of rains after a brief dry spell cheered farmers, who resumed paddy sowing. Paddy is the second-largest crop in Kolhapur and Satara after sugarcane.Sattappa Mane, a farmer from Keloshi village in Radhanagari tehsil, said, “Even though the rain intensity is very low, the resumption of rains is a much-needed respite as sowing activities can be completed in these rains and we can give water to our cattle.

The ban on lifting water for agricultural purposes has put the farming community in immense trouble. Luckily, now it has started raining.”The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued an Orange alert for Kolhapur on Tuesday, warning of thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds of 40-50 kmph. Kolhapur and Satara will remain under an Orange alert on July 1 and 2, while Sangli and Solapur are under a Yellow alert on July 1.