A crest gate of the Tungabhadra Dam burst late on Saturday night in the Vijayanagara district of Karnataka, seriously endangering the low-lying communities nearby. The public has been informed by officials that the safety of theTungabhadra dam is unaffected. They stated that before any repairs could start, the reservoir of the Tungabhadra Dam dam would need to be emptied more than half of the way.

At present, the dam’s 33 crest gates are open, causing more than 100,000 cusecs of water to be released, with approximately 35,000 cusecs escaping from the damaged 19th gate. The Tungabhadra Dam is storing close to 100 TMC of water because of the recent intense rains that have fallen on the catchment areas.

Shivaraj Tangadagi, the Minister for Kannada and Culture in Karnataka, visited the site on Sunday morning. He stated that although the specialists in Tungabhadra Dam dam restoration have been consulted, around 60–65 TMC of water must be released before any work can start. Water is surging out of the Crest Gate with incredible speed Before the state of the gate can be evaluated, the Tungabhadra Dam dam’s water level needs to be decreased by twenty feet,” he said. He added that it seemed like the crest gate’s chain link had snapped, allowing the gate to be washed away. To avoid any unfortunate incidents, a warning has been sent to the communities located in the low-lying regions of the districts of Ballari and Raichur.
At this 1953-completed dam, this is the first instance of its kind. As long as there is enough room to adequately handle the flow of 235,000 cusecs of water, the settlements in the lower areas are not in danger. The minister went on to say that in order to expedite the start of repair operations, the dam authorities have chosen to progressively raise the water flow. Later in the day, D. K. The Deputy Chief Minister and Minister of Water Resources, Shivakumar, is expected to visit the dam to assess the situation.

The Tungabhadra Dam’s secretary stated in a statement that all maintenance was finished in May 2024 and that the gates had been checked and validated. Additionally, the statement said, “10 spillway gates, numbered 12 through 21, were operated on August 10, 2024, at a height of 1.5 feet, releasing 22,890 cusecs of water.” Around 10:50 PM during the event, spillway gate number 19 washed out of the spillway grooves.” Officials from the dam say that the repairs should be finished in a week.

One of the four dams in the state with a capacity greater than 100 TMC is the Tungabhadra Dam. Sediment building has reduced the dam’s effectiveness over time, and plans exist to solve this problem by developing a balanced reservoir.

One of the crest gates of the largest reservoir in Karnataka, the Tungabhadra Dam, washed away into the lake on Sunday at around one in the morning, in an unexpected development. When water started to pour out of the broken gate number 19, authorities decided to hold an emergency meeting. This is the first instance of this kind of incident in the state’s history involving dams. Residents in the river’s downstream communities have been alerted to the issue.

Water entering the reservoir has surged since last week, according to dam authorities. Crest Gate No. 19’s chain link broke under the strain, allowing the gate to wash away into the outflow. The damaged gate is currently releasing 36,000 cusecs of water, and the 18 other crest gates are releasing 40,000 cusecs overall. The reservoir’s outflow has surpassed 100,000 cusecs. In order to save the 19th crest gate region from bearing the maximum outflow pressure, plans are in place to enhance the discharge rate.

Constructed in 1953, the dam is situated in Munirabad, Koppal district, and provides irrigation and water to three states. 105.788 TMC of storage can be found in the dam. As water levels increase, officials predict that Kampli Town will flood. The dam’s catchment region may flood if the water outflow from the remaining 31 crest gates were to be stopped right away.

To attend the emergency conference, a group of highly skilled engineers from Andhra Pradesh has already departed for Hospet. After the crest gates were opened last month, water was not let into the left and right bank canals. This will now happen. 105.788 TMC of storage can be found in the dam.

H. R. Gaviyappa, the Hospet MLA, met with site officials. “We have alerted the government to the situation, and we advise people not to panic,” he said. Our representatives have already begun work.” Senior administrative representatives from Vijayanagara and Koppal have arrived at the location and are debating what to do next. In order to make sure that the other crest gates are unaffected, experts have also advised carrying on with the discharge. Deputy Commissioner M. S. Divakar of Vijayanagara stated that engineers are evaluating every possibility to regulate the outflow and handle the circumstance.