| Crest gate and Stoplogs: Crest Gate (Spillway Gate): A gate on the crest of a spillway that controls overflow or reservoir water level. Tungabhadra Reservoir was not equipped with Stoplogs as recommended by the World Bank; as it is quite an old dam. The stoplog was conceived so that the flow and its hydrodynamic effects on the gate would be properly reproduced in order to assess the down pull force properly |
- A crest gate of the Tungabhadra reservoir near Hospete in Vijayanagara district, Karnataka, was washed away, raising concerns of downstream flooding.
- The full reservoir level (FRL) is 1,633 feet with a total storage of 105.788 tmcft.
- After the chain link of crest gate 19 broke and the gate was swept away, the remaining 32 crest gates were opened to reduce pressure on the damaged gate, increasing the discharge to one lakh cusecs.
- Water storage in the reservoir must be reduced to about 60 tmcft to facilitate repairs.
- The Tungabhadra is an inter-state project involving Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and the other riparian States that were informed about the incident.
| The Dam Safety Act, 2021 • Enacted by the Union Government, ensures proper surveillance, inspection, and maintenance of specified dams to prevent failures. • It establishes a National Committee on Dam Safety (NCDS) to develop policies and recommend regulations, ensuring uniform safety standards. • The National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA) acts as a regulatory body, implementing NCDS policies, offering technical assistance, and resolving inter-state disputes. • State Governments are empowered to form State Committees on Dam Safety and State Dam Safety Organisations, responsible for enforcing safety standards and providing crucial instructions to dam owners on safety protocols. |
Dig Deeper: Read about the safety concerns of various old dams in South India.
