Srirangapatna: The replacement works of over 40  sluice/ crest gates of KRS Dam has been completed and in case the Dam fills up to the brim, water will be released from 40 new gates.

For the first time, all the 136 sluice/ crest gates out of the total 153 are being replaced. In all, there are 153 sluice gates at various levels through which water is released and in 2003, 17 sluice gates at 80 feet level were replaced as they were either corroded or damaged.

Now, authorities are taking up the replacement project where 136 gates will be replaced. The project is being taken up with the financial support of the State Government and the World Bank under Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project and the World Bank has released a financial aid of Rs. 69 crore.

Speaking to Star of Mysore this morning, Cauvery Neeravari Nigam Limited (CNNL) Assistant Executive Engineer (AEE) Abu Farooq said that 40 gates have been replaced. “We are all set to release water this year from 40 new gates. However, the process will be manual as the automatic process (SCADA system of water monitoring for real-time and live data) can be implemented only after all the 136 gates are replaced,” he said.

This system, called Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA), will monitor the inflow of water to the Dam and also outflow through each of the 158 gates. There are 17 crest gates at 80 feet level, 40 at 106 feet level, 48 at 103 feet level and another 48 gates at 114 feet level taking the total up to 153.