Govt. attempts to draw curtains on bitter political-personal slugfest

Bengaluru: In the backdrop of a bitter slugfest between former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy and his bête noire Mandya MP Sumalatha Ambarish over cracks in the Krishna Raja Sagar (KRS) Dam built across River Cauvery in Mandya due to rampant illegal mining, the State Government has clarified that the Dam was safe.

“The Dam is safe and there are no structural defects,” K. Jaiprakash, Managing Director, Cauvery Neeravari Nigam Limited (CNNL), said, dismissing reports of cracks in the Dam.

Sumalatha’s remarks had kicked up a political storm with Kumaraswamy and JD(S) Legislators from Mandya, who have a stake in mining, slamming the MP for her comments. With the CNNL MD’s statements, the Government has attempted to draw curtains over the war of words. 

Jaiprakash clarified that the Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP) consultant and Dam Safety Review Panel (DSRP) inspected gates of the Dam on July 2 this year and that there is no structural defect in the wall of the structure. 

“Post and pre-monsoon inspections have been conducted and reports have been submitted to the Dam Safety Division of the Karnataka Engineering Research Station. The inspections confirmed that there are no cracks,” Jaiprakash added.  “A consultant from DRIP visited the reservoir to inspect the work on replacing the 136 crest gates and the official too informed that there were no structural defects,” he clarified.

Strengthening the structure

Following the suggestions from DSRP, the authorities have strengthened the Dam by using cementitious grout upstream from 131 feet to 70 feet. The pointing and grouting work was also done to stones of the Dam, he said. The World Bank provided funds for the Dam reviving project and the Central Water Commission had awarded the contract for Dam development work, Jaiprakash added. 

Adopting some of the best engineering practices to repair and renovate the Dam, the State Government has won the prestigious World Bank award of Excellence in Rehabilitation Work(s) Civil-Spring 2017. The renovation and repair works at the Dam began in July 2016 and were completed in May 2017 at an estimated cost of Rs. 36 crore. 

Under the repair and renovation project, holes on the Dam were identified by carrying out a survey using advanced civil engineering technology. Further, the identified holes and cracks were filled using crystalline technology through Fibre Short Crate and subsequently sealed with the grating process. This apart, cavity filling, grouting of the dam structure were also taken up, Jaiprakash clarified.