The water level at Tungabhadra Dam has been steadily increasing following the installation of a temporary gate to address a breach. This improvement comes after a significant loss of over 36 tmcft of water due to unregulated outflow caused by the washing away of crest gate number 19 on August 11.
Engineers and workers from Jindal, Hindustan Engineering, and Narayan Engineering, under the leadership of hydro-mechanical engineer Kannaiah Naidu, successfully installed five components of a temporary stop log gate in under a week despite ongoing heavy outflows. Their efforts preserved approximately 30 tmcft of water.
According to TB dam Board sources, the temporary gate is experiencing a minor leak due to its nature, with about 100 cusecs of water trickling through. However, this has not been officially confirmed by the Board.
On August 18, the dam received an inflow of over 28,000 cusecs, with continuous inflows expected due to intermittent rains in the catchment areas. The day’s outflow was 10,692 cusecs, mostly directed to the left and right banks and the Vijayanagar canals.
The current storage level at the dam stands at 72.79 tmcft, compared to the maximum capacity of 105.78 tmcft. With current inflows of over 25,000 cusecs expected to continue for the next two weeks, the level could reach 90 tmcft, which would suffice for the kharif crop and meet the drinking water needs of Karnataka, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh.
On Sunday, Kampli MLA Ganesh awarded Rs 50,000 each to 20 technicians and workers for their role in installing the temporary gate, a prize announced by Vijayanagar district Minister B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan on Saturday.