Tungabhadra Dam Gets All 33 New Crest Gates; Full Storage Target Set
The Tungabhadra Board has set the end of May as the deadline for completing the entire project.
Anantapur: Experts have successfully replaced all 33 crest gates of the Tungabhadra dam, with authorities targeting full storage capacity of 105 tmc ft in the coming season to maximise water supply to Rayalaseema, Karnataka and parts of Telangana.
Officials said trial runs had been completed for 25 crest gates after lowering them with the existing chains following welding works. First-coat painting for these 25 gates has also been completed. Welding works on the remaining eight gates will be taken up shortly, followed by the remaining processes.
The Tungabhadra Board has set the end of May as the deadline for completing the entire project. Ahmedabad-based Hardware Tools and Machinery Project Company is executing the replacement works at an estimated cost of ₹52 crore.
Officials said the crest gates were manufactured on the outskirts of Adavi Somapur village in Gadag district of Karnataka and also at the Tungabhadra dam site. Chain pulleys for all 33 gates are being manufactured in Chennai and will soon be brought for replacement of the old chains. Rubber seals for all gates are also under process. Each gate weighs 49.50 tonnes and is expected to last another 40 years.
The old gates, which were about 70 years old, had an original lifespan of 45 years but continued in service for an additional 25 years.
Tungabhadra Superintendent Engineer Narayana Naik said a team of 65 personnel, including engineers, experts and workers, was engaged in the project, with 40 members directly involved in installation works.
Constructed in 1953, the Tungabhadra dam has 33 crest gates to regulate water discharge and serves as a lifeline for irrigation and drinking water needs in Karnataka, Rayalaseema in Andhra Pradesh and parts of Telangana.
Narayana Naik told Deccan Chronicle that all 33 crest gates were replaced after the 19th gate was washed away last year. “We have successfully conducted trial runs of 25 gates by operating them from ground level to the prescribed height,” he said, adding that the new gates would withstand full storage capacity.
He said first-coat painting of 25 gates had been completed, while rubber seals had been fitted to eight gates. The replacement works began on December 24 last year with the aim of completing them before the onset of the monsoon, when inflows from the Western Ghats begin reaching the reservoir.
