The Sardar Sarovar Dam is close to full capacity with the water level touching 136.20 metres on Friday night, just below its maximum of 138.68 metres. The reservoir now stands at 91.59% full.
Heavy rainfall in the upstream catchment pushed inflows to 5.90 lakh cusecs, leading authorities to open 23 of the dam’s 30 gates earlier in the day. As rains eased and inflows from Omkareshwar Dam dropped, the level began to recede. By 9 pm, eight gates were closed, leaving 15 open, releasing 3.35 lakh cusecs downstream. With six turbines running, the total discharge stands at 3.80 lakh cusecs.
Since its commissioning in 2017, this is the sixth instance of 23 gates being opened. The dam’s gates were first operated in 2019 following heavy rains in Madhya Pradesh and have since been opened in 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024, and now 2025.
Meanwhile, Gujarat’s seasonal rainfall is nearing the 100% mark. While the downpour has boosted the scenic appeal of the Statue of Unity and the Narmada River, it has worsened road conditions. On NH-48, traffic jams stretched for kilometres as vehicles from Surat were stuck on the cable bridge.