Tungabhadra Dam Not To Hold Monsoon Water Due To Weak Crest Gates

ANANTAPUR: Heavy inflows are expected intothe Tungabhadra Dam due to heavy rains in the upstream regions of the Tungabhadra River.

However, the Tungabhadra Board authorities are unable to hold most of this water and supply it to the second crop because all the 33 crest gates of the dam are weak. It may be recalled that the experts’ committee led by Kannaiah Naidu, adviser to AP government and an irrigation engineering veteran, had suggested that all the crest gates of the dam be replaced in a phased manner as they have gone old.

Further, the committee had advised the board not to store water beyond 80 per cent of its capacity, as the condition of the crest gates is poor. Accordingly, dam authorities are planning to discharge water into the river the moment the water level exceeds 80 per cent.

As for replacement of the 33 gates of the Tungabhadra Dam, four companies have participated in the tender process – Hardware Tools and Machinery Project Company, Swapna Projects Private Limited, Bekem Infra Projects Private Limited and Anar Company.

Sources said Gujarat-based Hardware Tools and Machinery Project Company has won the tender. It has been entrusted with the work of replacing the crest gates in a phased manner over a period of 15 months.

Incidentally, the same company had got the tender to replace crest gate number 19 of the Tungabhadra Dam, which got washed away on August 10 last year. According to Tungabhadra Dam official Narayana Naik, Hardware Tools and Machinery Project Company is scheduled to replace all the 32 crest gates by the end of June 2026.

Until then, the Tungabhadra Dam is expected to hold not more than 80 TMC feet of water against the reservoir's total capacity of 101 TMC feet.

In a related development, dam authorities are planning to meet on June 11 to finalise allocations of water to the TB High Level Main Canal, Low Level Canals of AP, and to Karnataka, including to fulfil its power generation needs.