KOPPAL/HOSAPETE : In a landmark moment for South India’s water management and agricultural future, the newly installed 33 spillway crest gates of the Tungabhadra Dam were inaugurated on Thursday in the presence of Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, his Andhra Pradesh and Telangana counterparts N Chandrababu Naidu and A Revanth Reddy, respectively, along with Union Jal Shakti Minister CR Patil.
The event symbolised unprecedented unity among the three riparian states that depend on the Tungabhadra river basin for irrigation and drinking water purposes.
The historic ceremony witnessed CMs Shivakumar, Naidu, and Reddy and Patil, jointly inaugurating the new gates by pressing the activation buttons at the dam. The leaders arrived together and later travelled in a battery-operated vehicle to the spillway site, underscoring a spirit of cooperation that transcended political and regional boundaries.While Naidu inaugurated gate 19, Shivakumar activated gate 18, Patil commissioned gate 17, and Reddy launched gate 20.
Addressing a massive public gathering at Munirabad in Koppal district, Shivakumar described the occasion as a “historic event for South India”. Recalling the crisis that emerged after the collapse of Gate No 19 last year, he said swift action by the Karnataka government and technical experts helped avert a major disaster.
He noted that the replacement and modernisation of all the 33 gates were undertaken to safeguard the interests of farmers in Karnataka, and neighbouring Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Shivakumar revealed that the three states had held extensive discussions on the future of the Tungabhadra basin, including proposals for de-silting and construction of a balancing reservoir at Navali.
He termed the consensus reached among the three governments as a historic decision aimed at protecting farming communities and ensuring long-term water security. “Coming together is a beginning, discussing together is progress, and working together is success,” Shivakumar said.
Speaking next, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu stressed the urgent need for interlinking rivers across India. Referring to successful river-linking projects in northern India, he urged the Centre to consider the Godavari-Cauvery river-linking project as a national priority. He said river interlinking would help address recurring floods and droughts, reduce water disputes and ensure equitable distribution of water among states while protecting their rights.
Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy described the inauguration as a historic milestone comparable to the original construction of the Tungabhadra Dam. He said the modernisation of the spillway gates would benefit lakhs of farmers and help address long-standing irrigation challenges in drought-prone regions of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
Union Jal Shakti Minister CR Patil lauded the cooperation shown by the three states and announced that the Centre is preparing a nationwide programme to remove silt from major reservoirs. He noted that de-silting could significantly enhance the storage capacity of the Tungabhadra reservoir. He said the successful completion of the gate replacement project demonstrated how cooperative federalism can deliver tangible benefits to farmers.
Crest gate’s Gadag connection
When crest gates at the Tungabhadra dam were replaced on Thursday, it was a proud moment for many in Gadag as well. The crest gate 19 was made at Adavi Somapur, on the outskirts of Gadag. The place was chosen since the manufacturer was working on the crest gates for Hammigi dam at the same time. The work on the crest gate used to attract a lot of visitors—a big time photo opportunity for many.
(With inputs from S Guru Srikanth @ Vijayawada; Manda Ravinder Reddy @ Hyderabad and Raghottam Koppar @ Gadag)