The 71-year-old Tungabhadra dam in Hospet, Karnataka, is a dam in trouble. Less than 24 hours after the end of the BJP-JDS 'padayatra' demanding the resignation of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, the opposition has found a new issue to target the ruling Congress party, even as officials said the situation was not alarming.
A 71-year-old chain at one of the 32 crest gates of the Tungabhadra dam broke late Saturday night, releasing thousands of cubic feet of water and raising concerns over floods in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh Risk concerns, these two states are two states in India.
The waters of the Tungabhadra River flow through the Davangere, Ballari, Koppal and Raichur districts of Karnataka before entering Telangana and Andhra Pradesh before finally joining Kerry Hina River and empties into the Bay of Bengal.
The crest gate 19 of the dam across the Tungabhadra river was washed away due to a broken chain on Saturday night, which has become a matter of concern for officials and has left Karnataka and Andhra The state is on alert. Karnataka irrigation officials, however, insist there is no need to panic.
Management said it acted quickly and there was no threat
As part of the Charter of the Maintenance and Management Corporation, Tungabhadra Dam is managed by the Tungabhadra Board of Directors on a 50:50 basis.
Speaking to News18, Managing Director of Karnataka Neeravari Nigam Rajesh Aminbhavi said that the gate was washed away due to flash floods and all efforts are being made to ensure its repair.
“As of the night of August 9, the inflow of Tungabhadra Dam was 30,000 cubic feet per second and the outflow was 35,000 cubic feet per second. The sudden heavy rain caused the gate to be washed away, but we took quick action and within eight to ten days, the gate was washed away. The door can be repaired. It is important to understand that there is no threat to life or property at this time.
Another senior official closely involved in the repair work of the dam gates said that the monsoon has been delayed and although the rainfall in the region was average, Saturday's heavy rains left the dam at full capacity, leading to the gates being opened to discharge the excess water. . An internal investigation into the incident is ongoing, while work has begun to rebuild the gate.
Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar said he has assessed the situation and spoken to the Jindal Group to seek assistance in repairing the affected gates. He inspected the dam on Sunday and said authorities in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh have been informed.
“Our first priority is to ensure the safety of the dam and the well-being of farmers. We are currently concentrating on resolving the issue and we will investigate the cause of the incident later. We are trying to close the dam crest gates to save water for farmers, but unless there is a major The dam water level must be reduced to a certain level, otherwise it would be impossible to achieve this goal.
The Tungabhadra dam has a storage capacity of 136 TMC and currently can only store about 105 TMC. Officials explained that this was due to soil conditions in the area leading to accumulation of nearly 31 TMC of silt.
“The problem is that Karnataka is not getting enough water due to silt accumulation. This is also an issue that is being addressed,” the senior official said.
Pressure from opposition in Karnataka
The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party in Karnataka is also putting pressure on the ruling Congress government not to put people's lives at risk, as seen in neighboring states like Kerala when dam gates were opened That way.
Karnataka BJP president BY Vijayendra said there was “negligence” on the part of officials responsible for managing the dam. More than 40 villages downstream and areas around the reservoir face serious flood threats. The BJP also stressed the urgent need to relocate locals in the area to safer areas as the dam has proven unsafe after more than 70 years of operation.
Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel HD Kumaraswamy stressed the need to install stop wood on the top gates of all reservoirs built decades ago. He termed the Tungabhadra dam crest gate issue as a “disaster” and suggested installing waterstops in all reservoirs, including the KRS dam in Mandya district. Kumaraswamy criticized the technical committee of Tungabhadra dam and called for a thorough assessment of all reservoirs in the state. In 2021, the top gate at KRS Dam was replaced based on recommendations from the state's Dams and Their Safety Assessment Commission.
BJP MP and former chief minister Basavaraj Bommai, who served as water resources minister in several BJP governments, stressed that the ruling government was not taking the formation of Karnataka in 2023 seriously Recommendations from the State Dam Safety Assessment Commission.
“Based on the committee's recommendations, funds should be allocated and work carried out to ensure its maintenance. This happened due to negligence,” Bommai said.
Andhra Pradesh minister visits Tungabhadra
So far, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah have not held direct talks on the issue.
Andhra Pradesh Finance Minister P Keshav and Irrigation Minister Nimmala Ramanaidu visited Tungabhadra.
The state government has extended support to Karnataka, deployed a technical team led by irrigation experts and engineers and is constantly monitoring the situation.
Currently, flood warnings have been sounded in low-lying areas of the Rayalsima belt and have been brought under control.
Sources within the Andhra Pradesh government pointed out that water wastage is their biggest concern as the downstream reservoirs on either side – Srisailam and Nagarjuna Sagar – are full. Water wastage may affect the arid Rayalseema region. They urged the Karnataka government to repair the gate as soon as possible.
“Necessary maintenance was performed in May”
“The dam, which was commissioned in 1975, has come to the end of its life and there is a proposal to build another balancing reservoir near Navelu. There are no mismanagement or man-made problems. In May 2024, the dam authorities inspected all dam crests The gates underwent necessary maintenance and thorough inspection,” said an irrigation official working closely with the project.
According to the Tungabhadra Board website, the inflow into the dam so far is about 25,571 cusecs and the outflow is about 99,567 cusecs. The dam's design allows for the release of up to 650,000 cubic seconds of water at a time.
The Central Water Commission, the governments of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and the central government are being regularly briefed on the situation.
“There is no need for a rescue operation at this time. Even if we release 200,000 cubic seconds of water downstream, it will not affect life or property in the area.
