Nagarjuna Sagar Dam gates lifted for first time in July in 18 years amid heavy inflows
Water is typically released from the dam only in August, but this year, significant rainfall in Maharashtra and Karnataka has accelerated inflows
By Sistla Dakshina Murthy
Nagarjuna Sagar Dam gates lifted for first time in July in 18 years amid heavy inflows
Hyderabad: In a rare move prompted by heavy inflows from upstream States, 14 crest gates of the Nagarjuna Sagar dam across the Krishna River were lifted on Tuesday, marking the first such occurrence in July in 18 years.
Water is typically released from the dam only in August, but this year, significant rainfall in Maharashtra and Karnataka has accelerated inflows, pushing the reservoir close to full capacity.
Ministers oversee water release
Telangana Irrigation Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy and Minister for Scheduled Caste Development and Tribal Welfare Adluri Laxman Kumar supervised the operation, where 14 of the 26 crest gates were lifted to a height of five feet. A total of 78,060 cusecs of water was released downstream.
By Tuesday morning, the inflow into Nagarjuna Sagar stood at 2,28,900 cusecs, while the outflow had reached 1,18,790 cusecs. Authorities also released water through the damās left and right canals for irrigation and hydroelectric power generation.
Water levels near full capacity
The water level in the Nagarjuna Sagar reservoir rose to 587.20 feet on Tuesday, just shy of its full level of 590 feet. The dam currently holds 305.62 TMC (thousand million cubic feet) of water, against its full storage capacity of 312.04 TMC.
Officials alerted residents in low-lying areas downstream before initiating the release. Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy expressed satisfaction at opening the crest gates, calling Nagarjuna Sagar a āmodern temple.ā
He recalled that the foundation stone was laid by Indiaās first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, and the project was later inaugurated by Indira Gandhi. He highlighted the damās contribution to irrigation, covering 22 lakh acres across Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
Srisailam also releases water
Simultaneously, heavy inflows into the Srisailam dam in Andhra Pradesh prompted authorities to lift its crest gates as well. Gates were raised 10 feet high to allow water release downstream into Nagarjuna Sagar.
As of Tuesday morning, the water level at Srisailam was recorded at 883 feet, just two feet below its full reservoir level of 885 feet. The current storage is 204.78 TMC out of a total capacity of 215.80 TMC.
Srisailam is receiving 2,29,743 cusecs of water from upstream projects like Jurala and Sunkesula. The outflow is 2,48,900 cusecs, with 1,62,942 cusecs being released through various channels, including 20,000 cusecs through the Pothireddypadu head regulator, 35,315 cusecs via the left bank hydel station, and 30,643 cusecs through the right bank station.
Officials monitor situation closely
Authorities are closely monitoring the situation and managing inflows and outflows to ensure safety and optimal water utilisation across irrigation, power and downstream needs. With both Nagarjuna Sagar and Srisailam nearing full capacity ahead of schedule, water management operations are expected to intensify in the coming days.
