Munirabad (Koppal): Engineers completed installation of new crest gates at Tungabhadra Dam late Saturday, marking a major milestone which is expected to significantly enhance water storage capacity. The reservoir can now irrigate up to 15 lakh acres of farmland. Design and execution of work have surpassed expectations, and the final stage — installation of the slim plate for the last crest gate — was completed as scheduled. Authorities were in a race against time to complete the work before the monsoon season kicked in. ORK Reddy, Tungabhadra board secretary, said while core work is over, minor jobs such as welding and painting remain. “Chain links are expected to arrive by the second week of May. Overall, the dam will be ready for full water storage capacity by the end of May,” Reddy said. The upgrade follows an alarming incident on Aug 10, 2024, when the 19th crest gate was washed away with the dam at its maximum capacity of 1,633 feet (105.7tmcft). A stop-log gate was installed within a week to prevent water loss. Experts had warned of potential risks to the 73-year-old structure, and authorities decided to replace all crest gates. However, owing to delays last year, storage was restricted to about 80tmcft during the monsoon, forcing excess water to be released downstream. This limited irrigation to a single crop cycle last year. The current phase of works began with a ceremonial launch on Dec 5, followed by the removal of old gates and the commencement of installation on Dec 24. Work initially began with the 18th crest gate. On the final day, around 60 workers were engaged at the site, with a similar workforce regularly employed over the past four months. Key officials present included superintendent engineer S Narayana Naik, executive engineer N Chandrashekar, SDOs K Gnaneshwar and KK Krishnakumar, and section engineers G Kiran and DK Pampapathi. Kiran was confident the dam can now safely withstand heavy inflows and retain water at maximum capacity. He said the chain link installation would not pose significant challenges. The completion of work is expected to bring relief to farmers in the region, since it would ensure better water availability.
