BENGALURU: The failure of the nineteenth crest gate of the 71-year-old dam throughout the Tungabhadra river on Sunday afternoon has put lakhs of individuals in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh on excessive alert for potential flooding. The dam, located about 350km from Bengaluru, skilled a sudden surge of water because the gate collapsed.
The Tungabhadra venture, a multi-state enterprise, is run by the Karnataka govt.Gate 19 was carried away by substantial inflows to the venture throughout the late hours of Saturday. The breach within the gate has put tons of of hundreds of farmers and villagers within the states of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh in danger. The affected districts in Karnataka embrace Ballari, Vijayanagara, Koppal, and Raichur, whereas in Andhra Pradesh, Kurnool and Nandyal are on alert. The 2 districts in Andhra Pradesh are located downstream of the dam, and Kurnool metropolis is positioned on the banks of the Tungabhadra river, making them susceptible to potential flooding.
What’s historical past of Tungabhadra dam?
- Sir Arthur Cotton, a British engineer from the Madras Presidency, conceived the Tungabhadra Dam venture in 1860. His major goals had been to supply
irrigation amenities, generate electrical energy, and management floods within the area. - The development of the dam started in 1949 as a three way partnership between the Kingdom of Hyderabad and the Madras Presidency. The venture was accomplished in 1953.
- The dam, also called
Pampa Sagar , is located throughout the Tungabhadra River close to the cities of Hosapete and Koppal. - The Tungabhadra reservoir, together with the Mullaperiyar dam in Kerala, holds the distinctive distinction of being the one two reservoirs in India that had been constructed utilizing a mix of mud and limestone supplies.
Why is the Tungabhadra dam important?
- Tungabhadra Mission supplies important providers to the residents of Karnataka, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh.
- It considerably contributes to the irrigation of agricultural land, facilitating the cultivation of crops throughout two seasons on a formidable 6.5 lakh hectares.
- The venture performs an important position in producing hydroelectric energy, contributing to the power wants of the encircling states.
- It assists in managing and controlling floods, mitigating potential injury brought on by extreme water circulate.
- Tungabhadra Mission ensures a dependable provide of consuming water for the native inhabitants, enhancing their entry to wash and protected water assets.
What has occurred?
- A
flood alert was issued in Karnataka’s Koppal area on Sunday after one of many gates of a large dam broke unfastened. - Officers mentioned rising water strain after heavy rain dislodged a gate of the Pampa Sagar Dam on Karnataka’s Tungabhadra river.
- In consequence, an unlimited amount of water has been gushing out of the gate.
What’s the outflow standing?
- Dam officers mentioned about 1,020 tonnes of water is capturing out of the broken Gate 19 each second, as towards roughly 1,130 tonnes by way of the opposite gates.
- Dam’s design permits for launch of as much as 6.5 lakh cusecs of water at a time.
- In Could 2024, the dam authorities carried out important upkeep and thorough verify of all crest gates.
- As of Saturday, the dam, which has a most storage capability of 133tmcft, was holding 100tmcft of water, with the remaining 33tmcft being silt.
What triggered the dam gate chain snap?
- On Saturday evening, 40,000 cusecs of water was being launched into the Tungabhadra river by way of 10 crest gates.
- The best recorded launch was 3.6 lakh cusecs again in December 1992.
- At 12.50am, the nineteenth gate malfunctioned, inflicting a considerable circulate of water into the river.
- All 33 crest gates had been opened to cut back the strain on the damaged gate. The discharge elevated to at least one lakh cusecs on Sunday morning.
How this may be fastened?
- Putting in a cease lock might resolve the difficulty, and the venture authorities had been making an attempt to minimise water launch.
- It is unattainable to restore the gate whereas water is gushing out of it, so the authorities may need to empty about 60% of the reservoir.
- Karnataka minister Shivaraj Tangadagi mentioned, “We might should launch not less than 60 to 65 TMC water from the dam. The issue may be resolved solely after 20 ft of water is launched.”
- Dam officers say the discharge from the opposite gates will should be elevated to ease the strain on the damaged gate. All however 5 of the undamaged gates have already been opened.
- To switch the broken gate, it’s essential to launch not less than 60tmcft of the 100tmcft of water presently saved within the dam. This course of, together with the development of a brand new crest gate, is estimated to take as much as 4 days or probably longer.
- In an effort to handle the scenario, 22 out of the 33 gates on the dam had been opened on Saturday night, permitting for the discharge of almost 1 lakh cusecs of water into the Tungabhadra river.
