MALKANGIRI: Authorities on Sunday opened one radial and two sluice gates of the Balimela reservoir at Chitrakonda to release 6,000 cusecs of water to Andhra Pradesh as a precautionary measure against heavy rainfall anticipated under the influence of cyclone Murasu. Chief construction engineer of Potteru irrigation project TK Patra said the release was intended to regulate the reservoir level ahead of the expected rainfall and increased inflow.
A decision on opening additional gates would be taken depending on rainfall intensity and the volume of water entering the reservoir, he said. Superintending engineer of Balimela dam division Kailash Chandra Sethi said the upstream Jalaput reservoir was releasing 10,000 cusecs of water towards Balimela. Following instructions from higher authorities, officials plan to reduce Balimela’s storage from 87 per cent of capacity to 82 per cent to create sufficient space for additional inflows from the catchment, he said.
Currently, 6,000 cusecs is being released to Andhra Pradesh from Balimela dam with plans to increase the discharge to up to 18,000 cusecs to create more space in the reservoir, Sethi added. The water level of Balimela reservoir stood at 1,510.80 ft against its full reservoir level of 1,516 ft.