Equipment costing a few crores at Mulwad Lift Irrigation Project’s (MLIP) pump house at Baluti village near Alamatti in Vijayapura district were destroyed in a major fire mishap on Saturday.
The fire, suspected to have been triggered due to electric short-circuit, broke out around 3 pm. Firemen in six fire tenders doused the fire after three hours of operation. Four bikes were also gutted in the mishap.
The pump house was not functioning for the last three years as the water release had been stopped.
“As per preliminary report, rats that had cut cables into pieces triggered the short-circuit leading to the mishap,” Krishna Bhagya Jala Nigam Ltd (KBJNL) executive engineer Bharat Kambale told DH.
There was a huge thud followed by explosion. Workers ran out to safety. Within no time, the pump house plunged into thick clouds of smoke and flames.
There are 28 motors each with 1500 HP capacity.Starters, cables and HT panels of 23 motors and two major transformers have been gutted.
The MLIP is a major component of the Upper Krishna Project (UKP), while the pump house is on the out skirts of the Alamatti reservoir.