Tungabhadra dam to release over 4,000 cusecs of water

Maqsood Maniyar | NT

Bengaluru / Vijayanagar: Minister for Kannada, Culture and Backward Classes (BCs) Shivaraj Tangadagi said that 4,100 cusecs (cubic feet per second) of water would be released until November 30 from the Tungabhadra Dam.

The Dam is also known as the Pampa Sagar reservoir and is located near Vijayanagar district’s Hospet town.

Tangadagi, who is also the chairman of the Tungabhadra Irrigation Advisory Committee (TIAC), said that the decision was taken in the interests of farmers, adding that a keen eye was kept on the extent of the availability of water in the dam.

“The Tungabhadra dam currently holds 53 tmcft (thousand million cubic feet). A decision has been taken to release 4,100 cusecs of water to the main canal based on the availability of water,” Tangadagi said.

He made the comments at a press conference after holding an emergency meeting of the Tungabhadra Irrigation Advisory Committee at the Vikas Soudha in Bengaluru on Thursday. He added that the plan was to release 1,000 cusecs initially, until November 10 and hope that the reservoir would still maintain the water level of 1,600 feet.

“Work on the canals will force us to shut off water between December 10 to February 10,” the minister added. Tangadagi said that the decision had been reached so as to ensure that the crops don’t die.