Tungabhadra dam’s crest gate gets washed away; authorities caution downstream residents
Karnataka, Aug 11: In a shocking incident, a crest gate of Tungabhadra dam, Karnataka’s largest reservoir was washed away in water on Sunday at 1 am. A large amount of water started gushing out from the damaged gate no 19 and authorities have called an emergency meeting to handle the situation.
In the history of dams in the state, this is the first time since such an incident happened. People living in the river downstream have been warned about the situation.
According to the Tungabhadra dam authorities, the inflow to the dam has increased since last week. Due to the pressure, the chain link of crest gate no. 19 got broken after which the gate washed away into the outflow. The damaged gate is currently releasing 36,000 cusecs of water while the other 18 crest gates put together are discharging 40,000 cusecs of water. The discharge of water from the reservoir has crossed 1 lakh cusecs. There are plans to increase the discharge rate so that the crest gates area of 19 shall not bear the maximum outflow pressure.
The dam stands at Munirabad in Koppal district and was built in 1953. It serves the water and irrigation needs of the three states. The dam has a water holding capacity of 105.788 TMC. The authorities anticipate flood situation in Kampli town as the water levels have started increasing. However, the water outflow from the remaining 31 crest gates cannot be stopped immediately as it may cause floods in the dam catchment area.
A team of expert engineers from Andhra Pradesh have already left to join the emergency meeting in Hosapete. The water will be released into the left bank and right bank canals which wasn’t done after the water was released from the crest gates last month. The dam has a water holding capacity of 105.788 TMC.
Hosapete MLA H R Gaviyappa called on the officials at the site. “We have informed the government about the situation and we request people not to panic. Our officials are already on the job,” he said.
Senior administration officials from Koppal and Vijayanagara have reached the site and are discussing the future course of action. Experts have also suggested to continue the discharge so that the other crest gates are not affected.
DC Vijayanagara, M S Divakar said that engineers are looking at all possibilities to control the outflow and manage the situation.
“We are requesting public not to venture around the dam outflow region and along the river due to safety reasons,” the official said.
-PTI
