Flood alert in 5 districts as KRP dam to be opened for shutter work

Residents of the five districts, Krishnagiri, Dharmapuri, Tiruvannamalai, Villupuram and Cuddalore have been warned not to venture or go close to the river as there will be heavy flow.

The inflow into the dam was 600 cusecs while the discharge was 1,600 cusecs on Monday. The storage in the dam stood at 37 feet against its full capacity of 52 feet, said K Meiyalagan, Public Works Department (PWD) engineer, KRP dam.

The discharge was stepped up to bring down the storage level to less than 22 feet to facilitate the work to replace a temporary shutter that was placed following a breach in November last year.

The damaged shutter was replaced with a temporary one at a height of 42 feet while other shutters maintained at a height of 52 feet i.e., the full capacity of the dam. The dam was nearly brimming when the shutter was damaged.

After the farmers raised apprehension that they would be left without water for paddy cultivation, if water was not stored in the dam by fixing proper shutters, the district administration commenced works in view of the southwest monsoon that has now become active in the state. The PWD officials said the new shutters would reach Krishnagiri in a few days.

This is the first time the dam, which has been operational since 10th November 1957 after it was inaugurated by the then Chief Minister of K Kamaraj, faced such a major damage in its structure posing a serious threat.