BREAKING NEWS : South West Monsoon 2012 is here along kerala , Karnataka coast .rain will scale up during early hrs and towards morning !

Hulikal is getting wetter than Agumbe - may now claim the title of ‘Cherrapunji of South’

Hulikal in Hosanagar taluk could be the new Agumbe, known as Cherrapunji of South India. (Left in pic Hulikal Falls)

In terms of annual rainfall over the last few years, Hulikal is far ahead of Agumbe. According to the statistics of the last five years, Hulikal has recorded more rain than Agumbe except in 2008.

Environmentalists and forest officials of the region feel deforestation in Tirthahalli taluk is the major cause for the decline in rainfall. Another contributory factor is the increase in area of monoculture forest at the cost of natural flora in various parts of the taluk.

Speaking to Deccan Herald, Prof B M Kumaraswamy, member of Western Ghats Task Force, said planting of acacia, eucalyptus and other trees at the cost of natural forest in various parts of Tirthahalli taluk by the Mysore Paper Mill (MPM) has had disastrous effect on rainfall in Agumbe.

‘Green deserts’

“Monoculture tree plantations are ‘green deserts’ that bring no rainfall. They can never be considered as forests. There is a need to create awareness among people about the adverse effects of monoculture tree plantations on bio-diversity and climate change,” Kumaraswamy said. According to the recent studies, such plantations would pave way for the loss of biodiversity and increase in emission of carbon due to degradation of the previous ecosystem and disturbance of soil.

Realising the negative impact on biodiversity, the Forest Department has now banned plantation of trees such as acacia, eucalyptus on forest land. Raveesh, a resident of Agumbe told Deccan Herald that besides deforestation, there were other scientific reasons for the decline in rainfall. The temperature in the region is rising by the year, resulting in Agumbe losing its cool climate.

Venkatesan, Deputy Conservator of Forests, said: “I feel the MPM should not have been allowed to take up monoculture tree plantation in a place like Tirthahalli where you have natural forest.” A resident of Tirthahalli has approached the Karnataka High Court against the tree plantation taken up by MPM. A committee has been formed to submit the report on the impact of such plantation on bio diversity.

Soucre:Deccan Herald

Karnataka - Copious rainfall ensures steady flow into major reservoirs

Copious rainfall in the catchment areas of the Cauvery and the Kabini have ensured a steady inflow into the major reservoirs in the Cauvery command area since the last 24 hours. This has brought relief to the authorities, who were concerned about the slackening of the south-west monsoon as a result of which the water-level in the major dams—Krishnaraja Sagar (KRS), Kabini and Harangi

Krishnaraja Sagar dam (KRS)

Heavy rain in neighbouring district of Kodagu has augmented the inflow into the KRS. Officials in the Cauvery Command Area Development Authority (CADA) told The Hindu that the inflow into the reservoir was 14,874 cusecs on Thursday morning and it increased to nearly 17,000 cusecs by evening. The outflow from the reservoir was 3,500 cusecs. The water-level in the KRS was 91.30 ft as against the full reservoir level (FRL) of 124.80 ft. The live storage in the reservoir was 8.34 tmcft.

Kabini dam

The Kapila is rising owing to heavy rain in Wayanad district of Kerala which is the catchment area. As a result of incessant rain in the last 24 hours, the inflow into the Kabini dam at Beechanahalli in H.D. Kote increased significantly. The water-level in the reservoir is 2281.5 ft as against the FRL of 2,284 ft. The inflow into the reservoir was 22,271 cusecs at 6 a.m. but increased to 24.750 cusecs by evening.

Harangi reservoir

Harangi reservoir near Kushalnagar was let out into the river on Wednesday, as the water-level reached 2,854.70 ft as against the full reservoir level of 2,859 ft. The inflow increased to 16,646 cusecs. While 9,000 cusecs was released into the river on Wednesday night, this was reduced to 4,769 cusecs on Thursday morning.

The average rainfall for Kodagu district has crossed the 1,000-mm mark this year. According to statistics received on Thursday, the district recorded 1,132.33 mm of rainfall. The figure during the corresponding period last year was 1,754.65 mm. Bhagamandala received 98.40 mm of rainfall between 8 a.m. on Wednesday and 8 a.m. on Thursday. Shantalli in Somwarpet taluk continued to receive the highest rainfall of 156.20 mm during the same period, while Sampaje recorded 93.40 mm, Madikeri 92.40 mm, Srimangala 87 mm, Hudikeri 77.50 mm and Kodlipet 53.20 mm rainfall.

Tungabhadra dam

Water was released into the Tungabhadra Left Bank Canal (TLBC) on Wednesday to facilitate sowing of kharif crops in the command areas of Koppal and Raichur districts. Water will be supplied to the canal till mid-November.Water was also released into the Tungabhadra Right Bank High-Level Canal (RBHLC) and the Right Bank Low-Level Canal (RBLLC) to facilitate sowing of kharif crops in the command areas of Bellary district and parts of Andhra Pradesh. Water will be supplied to the canal till November-end.

This year, the release of water has begun even before the storage at the reservoir has not yet reached to its Full Reservoir Level (1,633 ft.). On Wednesday, July 28, the inflow was at 56.242 cusecs, the water level was 1,613.73 ft. with storage of 43.305 tmcft. of water.During the corresponding period last year, the level of the reservoir touched the Full Reservoir Level with storage of 104.340 tmcft.

Almatti dam

The water levels of various reservoirs built on River Krishna are slowly rising with more rains reported in the catchment area. Almatti dam in Karnataka is almost up to brim and is releasing more than one lakh cusecs of water to downstream Narayanpur dam in the same state. Narayanpur also started releasing water into Jurala in AP as the discharge from Almatti stepped up on Thursday. At Jurala, water level reached 1,043 feet against 1,045-feet full reservoir level. Irrigation officials opened 24 gates at Jurala to let 25,000 cusecs water downstream.

Srisailam reservoir

Increased inflows from Krishna and Tungabadhra saw a sudden surge of water into Srisailam reservoir where the water level touched 835 feet against 885-feet full reservoir level (FRL). This will help the authorities generate more power to ease the ongoing shortage.

Sriram Sagar reservoir

In the Godavari basin, the Sriram Sagar reservoir continues to receive copious inflows from upstream. The water level reached 1,075 feet against 1,091-feet full reservoir level. Singur, Nizamsagar, Yeluru reservoirs also received substantial inflows in the last three days with widespread rains in the catchment area.

Karnataka Reservoirs filling up following heavy rains

The night-long rain in the catchment area increased the inflow of water into Linganamakki reservoir, raising the level by two feet. As per the recordings on Wednesday morning, the water level at Linganamakki reservoir stood to 1763.50 feet and there was an inflow of 26,146 cusec of water. Rain continued for the third consecutive day in Hosanagara, Tirthahalli and Sagar taluks. A total of 115 mm of rain was recorded at Hulikal (wettest place in south India) , 118 mm each at Mani reservoir region and Yediyur, 130.2 mm at Agumbe and 32.2 mm at Tirthahalli. Water level at Mani reservoir rose to 564.04 metres. There was continuous drizzle in Sorab, Shimoga and Bhadravathi. Reports said most parts of Kodagu have been receiving good rains. There was a let up for sometime in Bhagamandala area. Following good rains in catchment areas inflow into Harangi reservoir stood at 2,521 cusec Source: Deccan Herald

Karnataka monsoon & water status ... http://ow.ly/28Bfc

RT @devswonderland: very chilling weather @ bangalore IST 11.04am :) karnataka india @weatherofindia