AP Water Resources Minister Nimmala Ramanaidu pointed out maintenance failure as the reason for damage of 19th gate at Tungabhadra dam. Nimmala Ramanaidu along with Finance Minister Payyavula Keshav and senior officials of AP Irrigation Department visited Tungabhadra dam on Tuesday.

After taking stock of the situation at Tungabhadra dam, Water Resources Minister discussed with Irrigation officials about the steps to be taken to fix temporary gate and control further damage.

“Tungabhadra Dam is 75-years-old. The 19th gate which was washed away due to heavy floods had a lifetime period of about 45 years. That means, the gate has long outlived its life period,” said Nimmala Ramanaidu speaking to media at Tungabhadra dam site.

Also Read : TDP govt targeting poor, says Jupudi

“The 19th gate was 60×20 ft size. As it will take long time to prepare a gate of such a big size, we are preparing five gates of 60×4 ft size. This will ensure that even if one or two gates are prepared and fixed, water loss can be controlled at least to some extent immediately,” explained Water Resources Minister Nimmala Ramanaidu.

Water Resources Minister added that Government is also exploring the option of setting up Stoplog gate at the Tungabhadra dam, to ensure that mishaps like this are prevented in the future.

Dnr