Tungabhadra dam gate failure: Potential flooding in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh
Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh are on high alert for potential flooding after a crest gate of the 71-year-old dam across the Tungabhadra river failed Sunday afternoon. This incident has led to water gushing out of the dam, which is about 350km from Bengaluru, raising concerns for downstream districts in north Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh's Kurnool and Nandyal.
The Tungabhadra dam, which was inaugurated in 1953, has a maximum storage capacity of 133TMCFT (thousand million cubic feet). As of Saturday, it held 100TMCFT of water, with the remaining 33TMCFT being silt. On Saturday evening, 22 of its 33 crest gates were opened, releasing nearly 1 lakh cusecs of water into the river.
Engineers have raised concerns regarding the damaged gate, estimating that 60TMCFT of the stored water must be drained before they can proceed with replacing the damaged gate. The entire process, including constructing a new gate, could take four days or longer.
Districts downstream of the dam, including those in Andhra Pradesh, have been put on high alert. Karnataka deputy CM DK Shivakumar visited the site to evaluate the situation.
«On Saturday night, 40,000 cusecs of water was being released into the Tungabhadra river through 10 crest gates. At 12.50am, the 19th gate malfunctioned, causing a huge flow of water into the river. We’ve taken every possible precaution,» said Karnataka deputy CM DK Shivakumar.
Tungabhadra Board secretary ORK Reddy has assured that there is no immediate cause for concern, noting that the dam's design allows for
