After visiting the Tungabhadra Dam, he told reporters, “There are good engineers in Tungabhadra Neeravari Nigama. Contractors Krishnaiah, Narayana and Hindustan Company are already working on it. All the necessary drawings have been handed over to them.”
“We have to release 60 TMC of water from the dam to install the crown gate. The dam has a capacity of 150 TMC and the current inflow is 28,000 cubic feet per second. We will ensure that the farmers of the area have at least one crop,” he assured.
“There are three main canals and 115 TMC of water is required for crops. We are taking all this into account and working towards it. We have already released 25 TMC of water to the neighbouring state and need to release 90 TMC more. This is an important reservoir for the farmers of Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. The reservoir supplies water to 1.2 million hectares in Koppala, Raichur and Bellary districts of the state. All three states will solve this problem together, there is no need to worry,” he said.
“This dam is 60-70 years old and I will not blame the officials for this. During the repair work, the dam is not accessible to anyone except engineers and officials. Access is also restricted to elected representatives,” he said.
“There was a plan to offer Bagina on August 13 as the reservoir was full, but it was postponed in light of this incident. Our responsibility now is to ensure the safety of the dam.”
When asked how long the repairs would take, he said: “Officials are working hard to fix the problem. It was an accident, it will be fixed soon.”
When asked if the government would also examine other reservoirs in the state, he said, “The other dams have a rope and chain mechanism, while this dam has only a chain mechanism. Our top priority is to fix this problem and then we will examine other reservoirs.”
