Koppal, 13 Aug

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said he has asked officials and experts to fix within three to four days the damaged crest gate of Tungabhadra reservoir so that water from expected rains can be stored.

After inspecting the dam, he also assured that there is no need for farmers to worry. One of the crest gates (19th gate) of the Tungabhadra reservoir in Koppal district was washed away after its chain link snapped on Friday midnight, following which the downstream areas were put on alert, as a huge quantity of water was being released.

He assured that there won't be any problem for farmers in the three states -- Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, who have sown crops, as water is flowing through all the canals and there will be any damage to crops.

The dam is managed by the Tungabhadra Board with representatives from Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana government representatives being its members; the Central Water Commission (CWC) appointee is the Chairman.

Noting that the dam construction work began in 1948 and got completed in 1953, and from 1954 water is being released to canals.

This year the dam had received 115 tmcft of water out of which 25 tmcft was released through canals for fields of farmers in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, he said. "For the first crop, 90 tmcft water is required and the dam currently has 90 tmcft of water. As of today there won't be any trouble for the first crop."

It will take a minimum of four to five days for chain and gate to be installed and the repair work to be completed, he further said, adding that "The work has began since yesterday, gate will be ready tomorrow, Narayana Engineering, Hindustan Engineering and Jindal are involved in the work ."

To a question as to who will be held responsible for the incident, Siddaramaiah said it will be looked into.

Noting that a detailed project report (DPR) worth about Rs 15,000 crore has been prepared for the Navali balancing reservoir across Tungabhadra River, he said it has been sent to the board, which will seek the opinion of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. "If they give their approval, we will start the project. It is a multi-state dam ". PTI