Mysuru, Mandya/Bengaluru: The District Administration has issued a flood alert as water from KRS Dam has been released. Eleven crest gates were opened at around 1.15 pm today. A puja was performed by officials before water was released.
Authorities of Cauvery Neeravari Nigam Limited (CNNL) told Star of Mysore this morning that 20,000 cusecs of water (gradually increased to 35,000 cusecs approximately) was released after holding consultations with the Chief Minister’s Office.
Following the flood alert, residents living on the banks of the river downstream have been advised to move into safer places. They have been advised not to venture into the river. People are also advised to be extra cautious while venturing into the river bed as water levels and flows is likely to be higher than normal and may be unpredictable. Low lying areas and riverside areas of T. Narasipur taluk, especially the area surrounding Talakadu temples are vulnerable.
The advisory has been issued by the District Administration following the directives from Central Water Commission and Gangaram Baderia, Principal Secretary to the Government, Revenue Department.
Water gushing out of Crest Gates that were opened this afternoon at Krishna Raja Sagar Dam. [Pic. by M.N. Lakshminarayana Yadav]
The advisory states that heavy rainfall in the Cauvery catchment area has resulted in rapid rise of water levels of rivers in Cauvery basin. Harangi and Kabini dams have reached Full Reservoir Levels (FRL) and KRS and Hemavathi are likely to reach FRL in a day or two because of copious inflows. The water from dams will be released in a controlled manner as per the Standard Operating Procedure.
“Strict vigil has to be maintained at the dam as well as in the downstream area and necessary precautions have to be taken to regulate the release smoothly without creating flood-like situation in downstream area. District Administration has been advised to take all necessary precautions and water-based recreational activity in the river must be suspended during monsoon and popular river spots be manned to dissuade tourists from swimming or venturing into the river,” the advisory stated.
CNNL Executive Engineer K. Basavaraje Gowda said that KRS will reach its maximum level of 124.80 feet tomorrow if the same inflow of 41,000 cusecs continues. Today’s level stands at 122.70 feet.
104 crest gates
In all, there are 104 crest gates in the dam at various levels and water will be automatically released as it reaches that particular level. “There are 48 two-tier gates when the level reaches 103 feet, 40 gates when the level reaches 106 feet and 16 gates when the water level reaches 80 feet. The Dam has been designed in such a way that water flows from these gates automatically as and when the level increases. It is a technical marvel as water is simultaneously retained and allowed to flow without causing any harm to the dam structure,” he added.
This post was published on July 14, 2018 6:44 pm