Maha received 'excess' rainfall since June 1: Met

Maharashtra has received "excess" rainfall at 547.6 mm since June 1 this year which is 41 per cent more than the average rainfall at 387.2 mm, an IMD official said today.

Maharashtra generally receives 387.2 mm rainfall but this year it has received 547.6 mm rainfall so far. It is 41% higher and categorised as 'excess' showers, as per the India Meteorological Department (IMD) data.

The south-west monsoon has brought showers to central parts of the state as well, with arid Marathwada region also receiving good spells in the last couple of days.

Gadchiroli district in east Maharashtra, around 950 kms away from Mumbai, has been receiving heavy downpour since last evening, leading to water-logging of roads connecting the interior areas.

Marooning of roads has led to temporary suspension of communication with villages in areas such as Bhamaragad, said an official from Gadchiroli district collectorate.

The IMD data shows that only Nandurbar district has reported 'deficient' rainfall during the entire season so far, as it has received 28 per cent less rainfall than the normal one.

The tribal-dominated Nandurbar district, located in North Maharashtra, has received 217.4 mm rainfall so far as against its normal precipitation of 300.4 mm.

Districts such as Sangli, Aurangabad, Jalna and Buldana also received less than the average rainfall of the season but the difference is less than 15% and as per Met department parameters, it is considered as 'normal', said the IMD official.

Many districts have received excess and largely excess rainfall in the season so far, as per the data.

The catchment area of the Koyna dam, located in Satara district of the state, received heavy rainfall in the last few days, adding water to the biggest hydro-electric power plant in the country.

The dam has a total capacity of 105 TMC storage and it is largely used for power generation and irrigation purposes.

The water stock in the dam has now reached 78 TMC (thousand million cubic feet).

"The catchment area of the Koyna dam has received heavy rainfall in the last 4-5 days. As the entire catchment area is full of valleys, the entire downpour would come into the dam, which will increase the water level drastically. To avoid any critical situation, the Water Resources Department has decided to release 7,400 cusecs water from six gates of the dam," said a Koyna dam official.

The dam is managed by the state water resources department.

In 2017, the dam had 84 TMC water by July 30.

The official said they advanced the water release schedule owing to the heavy rainfall.

"We advanced the water release schedule and decided to release water early as the intensity of showers has been higher in the current season. We have slowed down the rate at which the dam is getting water from its catchment, otherwise we will have to release water at higher rate such as 10,000 cusecs which create problems for villages in the command area," he said.