Anantapur: There may be no spectacular view of water gushing out from all the crest gates at the Tungabhadra dam on Independence Day due to poor inflows at Hospet in Karnataka.
The Tungabhadra dam, the interstate project managed by the Tungabhadra Board, has a tradition of celebrating Independence Day by opening all crest gates, making for a breathtaking spectacle.
A long line of vehicles heads from Hospet towards TB reservoir every August 15. But the situation is bad this year due to poor rainfall in upstream areas of the reservoir.
An official report mentioned that at least 10 crest gates were opened last year even before Independence Day following heavy rains. Many historic mandapams were submerged in the first week of August last year. The report added that this was the worst situation in the reservoir’s history.
Presently, the reservoir has 66.663 tmc ft of water with the water level at 1,622.97 tmc ft. Last year, the dam had 100.77 tmc ft with the water level at 1,633 tmc ft.
Deputy executive engineer K. Ramesh said that the reservoir had filled up in the first week of August last year with an outflow of one lakh cusecs.
M. Dhananjaya, a local youth, said, “Usually, the National Highway bridge across the backwaters is teeming with visitors.”
