Tungabhadra Dam Increases Water Discharge

Swift Summary

• Tungabhadra dam authorities increased water release on Sunday due to a sharp surge in inflows from Tunga and Bhadra dams, Varada river, and heavy rainfall in catchment areas.
• At 10 a.m., reservoir water level stood at 1,624.76 ft (75.709 tmcft of water) against its full capacity of 1,633 ft (105.788 tmcft).
• Inflows reached 90,000 cusecs initially but are expected to rise to up to 1.40 lakh cusecs:

– tunga dam contributed 80,000 cusecs; Bhadra dam added 40,000 cusecs; varada river input was around 20,000 cusecs.

• Authorities started releasing water through spillway gates at 2 p.m., with outflows likely ranging between the initial inflow levels and projected peaks (90k-140k cusecs).
• Tungabhadra Board officials issued safety advisories: downstream residents warned of potential risks from rising waters; those near low-lying areas asked to remain vigilant.
• Current figures are lower compared to the same date last year when reservoir levels were higher at 1,631.68 ft, storing 100.523 tmcft with related flow metrics exceeding one lakh volumes both ways.

Indian Opinion Analysis

The decision by Tungabhadra dam authorities underscores careful management of high inflow scenarios that stem from regional precipitation or upstream contributions across Karnataka systems prominently ensuring precautionary response reflective mechanism scales next gate”empts worst-case preparation dynamically mitigate adjust coupled recalculation retention fluctuation safegaurd trails delegation