Mandya: Agriculture Minister N. Chaluvarayaswamy clarified that the crest gate of the KRS Dam was accidentally opened during maintenance work and not deliberately to release water to Tamil Nadu. He assured that officials acted swiftly to rectify the mistake.

Chaluvarayaswamy, who also serves as the Mandya District Minister, stated that the Dam held 107 feet of water. The incident occurred around 8 am on Monday when the gate was unintentionally opened during maintenance.

The technical team responded quickly and closed it by 5 pm the same day. Only around 600 to 700 cusecs of water is estimated to have flowed out.

Speaking to reporters yesterday, he explained that the Dam maintenance is conducted annually, typically before the water level drops to 80 feet. With the current level at 107 feet and the likelihood of rainfall, the gates opened during the maintenance process.

The Minister emphasised that this was not an intentional release of water to Tamil Nadu. “Without a request from Tamil Nadu, how could water be released?” he questioned, adding that officials promptly informed the Irrigation Minister and other authorities.

He also urged people to speak responsibly on the matter, highlighting the Dam’s age and the necessity of reviewing the condition of the crest gates. “Since the Dam’s construction, no major maintenance work has been carried out, which led to this issue. Corrective measures have now been taken,” he assured.

To address the situation, Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar has been invited to inspect the Dam and review the maintenance of its crest gates, the Minister added.