Expert Team to Repair TB Dam, It Had Only Chain-Operated Crest Gate: DCM Shivakumar

Tungabhadra Dam, Hospete, Express News: Expressing sadness at the unfortunate damage to one of the crest gates at Tungabhadra Dam (TB Dam), Deputy Chief Minister and Irrigation Minister DK Shivakumar today said that a high-level technical team has been called to fix the issue.

Speaking to reporters after paying a visit to Tungabhadra dam, he said, “There are good technicians in Tungabhadra Neeravari Nigama. The contractors Krishnaiah, Narayana and Hindustan Company are already working on this. All the necessary drawings have been given to them.”

“In view of the broken chain link of crest gate 19, we have opened all the crest gates of the dam in order to reduce stress on the dam. Currently, 98,000 cusecs of water is being released including 35,000 cusecs from crest gate 19. There is no need for farmers of Tungabhadra basin area,” he said.

“We have to release 60 TMC of water from the dam in order to install the crest gate. The dam has a capacity of 150 TMC and the current inflow is 28,000 cusecs. We will ensure that the farmers of the region have at least one crop,” he assured.

“There are three main canals and 115 TMC of water is needed for crops. We are factoring in all this and we are working towards it. We have already released 25 TMC of water to the neighbouring state and we need to release 90 TMC more. This is an important reservoir for the farmers of Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. The reservoir provides water to 12 lakh hectares in Koppala, Raichur and Bellary districts in the State. All the three states will resolve this issue together, there is no need to worry,” he said.

“This reservoir is 60-70 years old and I am not going to blame the officials for this. While the repair is going on, the dam will not be accessible anyone except technicians and officials. Access has been limited to elected representatives also,” he said.

“There was a plan to offer bagina on August 13 as the reservoir was full, but that has been postponed in view of this incident. Our responsibility right now is to ensure the safety of the dam.”

Asked if the government would examine other reservoirs in the State, he said, “The other dams have a rope and chain mechanism while this dam has only chain mechanism. Our first priority is to fix this issue and then we will examine other reservoirs.”