New crest gates for Tungabhadra reservoir within a year: K’taka Deputy CM Shivakumar

Hospet: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Sunday said the new crest gates for the Tungabhadra reservoir will be installed within a year.

Addressing a public function at the Munirabad Government Primary School premises after offering ‘Baagina’ (traditional thanksgiving) at Tungabhadra reservoir, he said, “New crest gates would be installed for Tungabhadra after consulting with Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Tungabhadra Board within a year. The new crest gates would use the latest technology and protect the interests of farmers.” The 71-year-old dam suffered a setback on August 10 when its crest gate number 19 was swept away.

Shivakumar said engineering expert N Kannaiah Naidu helped Karnataka save more than 20 TMC of water by erecting a crest gate on war footing. It saved crops on nine lakh acres.

Regarding Navali balancing reservoir, the DCM said a Detailed Project Report is ready and about 15,000 acres of land is needed for the project.

“We are not able to utilise 33 TMC of water from Tungabhadra due to silting and Navali is the solution for this. I will meet the chief ministers and irrigation ministers of neighbouring states soon and discuss the project,” he said.