Flood alert in Andhra as chain link of Tungabhadra dam’s gate snaps

The Andhra Pradesh government has alerted people in low-lying areas in the united Kurnool district in view of flood threat following the breaking up of the chain link of a crest gate of Tungabhadra Reservoir in upstream Karnataka.

Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Sunday reviewed the situation arising out of the incident that occurred at the reservoir near Hosapete in Vijayanagara district late on Saturday.

Andhra Pradesh’s Minister for Water Resources Nimmala Ramanaidu said that at the direction of the Chief Minister, the Central Design Commissioner and Engineering Division teams were sent to Tungabhadra dam.

The snapping of the gate’s chain caused a sudden outflow of around 35,000 cusecs of water. The dam authorities immediately issued an alert asking the people not to venture into the river downstream as the outflow might increase up to 2 lakh cusecs at any time.

The minister said the collectors of the districts concerned were asked to alert the people. He said people of Kowthalam, Kosigi, Mantralayam and Nandavaram mandal were alerted.

The minister said the authorities at Srisailam, Nagarjuna Sagar and Pulichintala projects were also directed to remain alert.

Chandrababu Naidu asked Finance Minister Payyavula Keshav to speak to Tungabhadra dam officials about installing a temporary gate. The officials told the minister that there are difficulties in making temporary stop-lock arrangements.

Dam authorities had reduced discharge of water on Saturday as the rains receded in the catchment area. The discharge was reduced by around 28,000 cusecs to maintain the Full Reservoir Level (FRL) of 1633 feet with a total storage of 105.788 tmcft.

After the chain link of Crest Gate No. 19 was broken at about 10.50 p.m., all 33 crest gates were opened to reduce the pressure on the broken gate. The discharge increased to one lakh cusecs on Sunday morning.

Officials said that the discharge was increased to reduce the water level in the reservoir so that the repair work to fix the broken chain link could be taken up.