SALEM: In a case of the second breach in recent weeks, a break in the 14th shutter of a barrage downstream the Mettur dam, at Chekkanur, led to water flowing out and a rise in the level of the river on Saturday.
On June 24 a breach occurred in the 3rd shutter of the dam.
The 18-shutter barrage was built in 1998 and is one of the seven barrages to be built across the Cauvery river. It is located 8 kms downstream of Mettur Dam. 30 MW of power is produced in each of the barrages when 20,0000 cusecs of water is released from the Mettur dam. Currently, 6,000 cusecs of water is being released from the Mettur Dam due to which 5 MW of power is being produced.
Poor maintenance is said to be the cause for frequent breaches. As there is no provision of an emergency shutter, the stored water flowing out through the breached shutter could not be stopped. Electricity Department officials are taking steps to fix the problem. Fishermen have been alerted about the increased flow in the river.