BENGALURU: Even as war of words between Mandya MP Sumalatha and former chief minister HD Kumaraswamy continue over the safety of the Krishnaraja Sagar (KRS) reservoir across the Cauvery river, the State Government on Friday clarified that the dam was safe.
“The dam is safe and there are no structural defects,” K Jaiprakash, Managing Director, Cauvery Neeravari Nigam Limited (CNNL), said, rubbishing reports of cracks in the dam. Sumalatha’s remarks about damage caused to the dam because of illegal mining had kicked up a political storm with Kumaraswamy, his party legislators from Mandya and even some BJP leaders, slamming the MP for her comments.
The State Government, too, came under fire for its silence on the issue.“Members of the Dam Safety Review Panel and department heads conducted post and pre-monsoon inspections and submitted reports to Dam Safety Division of the Karnataka Engineering Research Station. The inspections confirmed that there are no cracks,” Jaiprakash added.
Appropriate measures to strengthen the dam are taken based on the Dam Safety Review Panel’s report, he said and added that dam restoration work has received an award from the World Bank and Central Water Commission. “On July 2, a consultant from the Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project visited the reservoir to inspect the work on replacing the 136 crest gates and the official too informed that there were no structural defects,” he added.