Lonavala witnessed about 220 mm rainfall in the last 24 hours. Lonavala witnessed about 220 mm rainfall in the last 24 hours. A heavy downpour that continued for most of Saturday led to the irrigation department increasing the discharge of water from Khadakwasla Dam, from 2,000 cusecs on Friday evening to 14,000 cusecs on Saturday afternoon. According to officials in the irrigation department, the decision to increase the discharge from the dam was taken because the catchment area of the Khadakwasla Dam continued to receive good rainfall through Friday night. E B Shelar, an engineer with the state Irrigation department, said that considering the rainfall in the catchment area, the discharge of water was going to be increased step-by-step. “On Friday night, the discharge was 2,000 cusecs. In the morning, it was increased to 3,500 cusecs. As afternoon approached and the downpour continued, the discharge was increased to 14,000 cusecs, through 5,500 and 7,000 cusecs,” said the official. He said the department was keeping a close eye on the situation and would take a decision about increasing or reducing the discharge accordingly. “In the evening, the rainfall abatted. We are going to either continue at 14,000 cusecs or reduce the discharge,” said Shelar. Meanwhile, tourists rushed to the Khadakwasla Dam to watch the discharge of water; many of them were seen enjoying the rare scene and clicking pictures. The police had a tough time managing the crowd. Khadakwasla Dam, which has a capacity to store 1.97 thousand million cubic (TMC) feet of water, is 100 per cent full, officials said. The Temghar Dam, which has a total capacity of 3.15 TMC, is 40 per cent full. Panshet, with a capacity to store 10.64 TMC, is 83 per cent full. Varasgaon, with a capacity to store 12.81 TMC water, is 57 per cent full. The average daily need of Pune is 1,150 million litres per day. Pavana Dam, which supplies water to the twin cities of Pimpri-Chinchwad, is 83 per cent full, officials said. The four dams which provide water to the city — Khadakwasla, Temghar, Panshet and Varasgaon — have a total capacity to store 28 TMC. The average daily need of Pune is 1,150 million litres per day. For all the latest Cities News, download Indian Express App

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