Urgent Repairs and Heavy Water Release from Pampa Sagar Dam - Flood Alert Sounded

A flood alert has been sounded downstream of Pampa Sagar dam on the Tungabhadra river in Koppal following a significant technical failure. The chain of the dam's 19th crust gate broke, leading to the uncontrolled release of a substantial volume of water.

Sources from the water resource department indicated that to conduct essential repairs, the reservoir's current capacity must be reduced from 105 TMC to between 55 and 65 TMC. Consequently, all except five crust gates have been opened to expedite this process.

Water resource officials confirmed that 89,000 cusecs of water are currently being released. Koppal district in-charge Minister Shivaraj Tangadagi emphasized the need to release at least 60-65 TMC of water to address the problem. Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, overseeing the water resource department, has arrived in Koppal to assess the situation firsthand. While there is no immediate threat of flooding downstream, the public has been cautioned to stay away from the riverbanks due to the increased water flow.

(With inputs from agencies.)