KOLHAPUR: Warna dam in Sanglis Shirala tehsil filled to its capacity for the first time during the current monsoon on Monday evening.Warna dam, also known as Chandoli dam, is the second largest dam in the region after Koyna dam of Satara district. Warna dam has capacity of 34.4 TMC. It is among a very few large-sized earthen dams in the state.The water from the dam is released into Warna river, one of the major tributaries of Krishna river. The water from the dam is used for Kolhapur, Satara districts as well. The irrigation and district authorities in Sangli are relieved as the dam is filled to 100% of stock. The dam water is released for the Mhaisal lift irrigation scheme, which lifts water from Krishna and supplies to drought-prone areas of Sangli district. The drought-prone areas are facing severe water scarcity this time due to delay in rainfall. According to irrigation officials, the dam filled to its capacity every year except in 2015, when there was shortfall in the rains.Last year, the dam filled to its maximum capacity multiple times and emptied few times as well to accommodate water from the catchment areas. Since June 1 this year, the catchment area of the dam has received 1,634 mm rainfall as against the 2,718 mm rain last year during the same time. Currently, 450 cusecs of water have been released from the dam to make space for the inflow from catchment areas.Koynas stock raises to 89 TMCDue to the intense rain in ghat areas, the flow of water into the Koyna dam from its catchment areas has been rising steady. Right now, the dam has water stock of 89 TMC and authorities are hoping to get the dam filled before the month-end so that water availability for Sangli and Satara districts is guaranteed along with power generation.

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