Thungabhadra Dam Gate Washed Away; Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh Under Extreme Caution
Image Credits: India Today
Koppal district in Karnataka is facing significant concern as a gate of the Thungabhadra Dam has been washed away. To protect the dam from destruction, all 33 gates of the dam were opened, releasing a huge amount of water. Koppal, Raichur, Vijayanagara, and Bellary districts are under extreme caution due to the possibility of flooding. The Thungabhadra Dam is the second-largest earthen dam in India, following the Mullaperiyar Dam.
Gate number 19 was destroyed on the night of Saturday, 10 August, because the chain link on the gate snapped, as reported by a senior official. A sudden outflow of 35,000 cubic feet per second of water was reported, and the outflow might increase up to 2 lakh cusecs at any time. Kannada and Culture Minister Shivaraj Tangadagi, who visited the spot early on Sunday, said that dam experts had been consulted on starting the repair work, and the Minister also emphasized the urgent need to release water from the dam. Water is gushing out of the crest gate with significant force. The water level at the dam needs to decrease by 20 feet before the situation at the crest gate can be assessed, he said. Officials at the site stated that the restoration work can only begin after releasing around 60 TMC feet of water (60 thousand million cubic feet of water) from the dam.
The Thungabhadra Dam, also known as Pampa Sagar, is a significant water reservoir constructed across the Thungabhadra River at the confluence of Hosapete and Koppal in Karnataka, India. This infrastructure plays a critical role as a source of water for irrigation and hydroelectric power generation in the region. The area’s strategic importance lies in water management, agricultural development, and providing sustainable resources for local communities, contributing to overall socio-economic progress. The dam is constructed with suki mortar, a blend of mud and limestone commonly used at the time of its building. The construction of the Thungabhadra Dam was completed in 1953.
The dam, nearly at full capacity due to heavy rainfall in the catchment areas over the past few weeks, currently holds approximately 100 TMC of water.
The Indian Express reported that a statement issued by the secretary of the dam said that all maintenance works were completed in May 2024 and that the gates were operated and checked for correctness. “On 10.08.2024, 10 spillway gates were operated i.e. from gate No. 12 to 21 to a height of 1.5 feet, and the discharge through the spillway gate was 22,890 cusecs. During the said incident, i.e., at 10:50 PM, spillway gate No. 19 was washed away from the groove of the spillway.”
Andhra Pradesh is also on high alert, and people living around the banks of the Krishna River have been asked to keep vigilant and avoid crossing canals and streams. It was the first major issue reported at the dam in the 70 years since its construction.
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