CNN Central News & Network–ITDC India Epress/ITDC News Bhopal: All 33 crest gates of the Tungabhadra Dam need to be replaced as they have outlived their lifespan, said Kannaiah Naidu, a retired dam expert, who had saved the day for Karnataka and two other riparian states of Andhra and Telangana after one of the 33 crest gates of Tungabhadra dam in Koppal was washed away last month, causing a flood alarm.
Naidu (77), a national expert on hydraulic gate and handling equipment, rushed from Hyderabad to the dam site and worked tirelessly for five days with a team of experts to design, fabricate and install the new gate, in record time.
On Sunday, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, who offered ‘bagina’ to the dam on reaching its full capacity (103 tmc ft), felicitated Naidu and his team.
Naidu, who spoke to THE WEEK, said he cautioned the government to replace all the crest gates as they are already 70 years old and have outlived their lifespan.
According to the Government of India gazette, the total life of a concrete dam is 100 years and the equipment (including the gates) is 45 years. Since Tungabhadra was commissioned in 1954, almost 70 years, it is time all its gates are replaced, said Naidu.
“Once the dam gates complete 2.5 million cycles, they fail. All 33 gates need to be replaced and it may cost around Rs 250 crore. The new design will have vertical gates with higher density and will be stronger than the existing gates,” said Naidu, adding that the country had many ageing dams and the state governments should give priority to dam safety.
Recalling the Morbi (Machchu dam) disaster in Gujarat (in 1979) when 2,000 lives were lost, Naidu said the Dam Safety Act was enacted only in 2021 in response to the disasters related to dam failure due to inadequate maintenance and surveillance.
