GADAG: People of Singatalur in Gadag district are living in fear after the TB dam’s crest gate No 19 washed away on Sunday.
The reason for this is the Singatalur dam is getting filled fast because of rain and outflow from the Bhadra dam. Although all the crest gates of the Singalatur dam have been closed, water from gates 13, 16, 17, 19, 25 and 26 is leaking. Villagers fear that these crest gates may also get washed away if water level in the dam increases.
Some farmers living downstream of the dam told TNIE that the officials concerned placed coconut fronds and sandbags to stop water leakage. Rubber grippers of the crest gates have been damaged and this is the reason for water leaking from the dam. They demanded that the crest gates be repaired soon to prevent a TB dam-like incident in future.
The Singatalur dam was constructed in 2012 across the Tungabhadra river near Hammagi village in Mundaragi taluk of Gadag district. The dam has 26 crest gates and it can store 3.11 tmcft of water. But only 1.87 tmcft of water is stored. Three villages in Mundargi taluk will be inundated if more water is stored in the dam. With the steady increase in inflow into the dam, excess water is now being released through some crest gates.
Alleging that the dam is not being maintained properly by the officials, the villagers said even the cables and wheels of the crest gates have rusted.
However, the officials termed the allegations of the villagers as baseless and said steps have been taken to plug the leakage.
Water from this dam is provided to Huvinahadagali and Koppal towns in Vijayanagar district, Yelburga in Koppal district, Gadag-Betageri twin cities in Gadag district and several villages in Mundargi taluk.
If water leakage is not stopped, some villages and agricultural fields downstream of the dam will be inundated soon, the villagers said.
An official from the Mundargi division of the Singatalur dam said, “Of the 26 crest gates, only a few are leaking. We have invited tenders for repair and maintenance work for Rs 5 crore. The work will start after this monsoon.”