Engineers fix breach in Karnataka's Tungabhadra dam, manage to save at least 30 tmcft

Koppal/Hosapete: The team of engineers and workers, spearheaded by Hydro-mechanical engineer Kannaiah Naidu, has managed to save at least 30 tmcft of water by fixing all five elements of stoplog at Tungabhadra dam’s crest gate 19 on Saturday.

Five elements, each measuring four feet high, were lowered amid heavy outflows, to fix the breach created by washing away of crest gate 19 following a chain link snap, last Saturday. The exercise started on Friday night when the first of the five elements was fixed. The remaining four elements were lowered successfully on Saturday by regulating
water flow.

After lowering each element, the engineers closed all but crest gate 19, to make sure that the stoplog gate withstands water pressure. The temporary gate passed the test much to the relief of the technical team. By Saturday evening, the outflow was regulated from the reservoir, the lifeline of Koppal, Vijayanagar, Ballari and Raichur districts in Karnataka and several districts in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.

As much as 36 tmcft of water gushed out of the reservoir since August 10 when the gate 19 washed away from the groove of the spillway. However, the engineers, under the captaincy of crest gate expert Naidu, managed to save at least 25 to 30 tmcft of water. Initially, the engineers opined that at least 60 tmcft of water had to be released downstream to replace the damaged
gate.

Meanwhile, Vijayanagar district minister B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan has announced a prize money of Rs 50,000 each to 38 members of the technical team involved in restoring the damaged crest gate.

Kannaiah Naidu

Dam can survive for another 30 yrs with new gates: Expert

Crest gate expert Kannaiah Naidu said the Tungabhadra dam was fast aging and might survive another 30 years if all 33 crest gates were replaced with new ones immediately. Speaking to reporters after fixing the breach in gate 19 he said, “The crest gates should have been replaced after 45 years of the dam’s construction. The stone slabs will loosen and the dam may collapse when it goes past its service life. Hence after 30 years a new dam has to be built.”

On the operation to install a stoplog gate Naidu said, “It was the first of its kind in the country. We managed to lower gate elements amid heavy flow from the spillway. The exercise prevented at least 30 tmcft of water flowing downstream. The dam is expected to store 90 tmcft of water in the coming days which will be enough to provide water for one crop and meet drinking needs of the basin districts, Naidu said.