MYSURU: More than 1,000 cusecs of Cauvery water wastefully flowed into the river for more than a day after a sluice gate suddenly opened at the Krishnaraja Sagar Reservoir on Monday night. Farmers alleged that officials failed to attend to the crisis immediately and did not close the gate to save precious water.
Many wanted to know whether the fifth crest gate opened on its own due to a technical fault or because of the callousness of employees assigned to monitor the gauge and operations of sluice gates. They asked as to why the officials did not act in time to control the damage.
A few officers suspect that the gate might have opened because of the motor switch reversing or the irrigation department staff pressing the gate switch. Sources said officials struggled for hours to close the crest gate on Monday night as the reservoir level is around 106 ft as against the maximum of 124.8 ft.
Superintendent Engineer Raghuram said the gate opened because of a technical snag, and a report has been sought to know how and who opened the gate. He said that around 750-1,000 cusecs of water flowed into the river.
This was in addition to the irrigation department discharging 1,750 cusecs of water every day into the river. The farmers need not worry as the gate has been closed, he said.
Farmers alleged that irrigation department officials discharged water to Tamil Nadu for the last three days and failed to give a proper reason, citing technical issues.