Shutters of Shenbagathoppu dam in Tiruvannamalai opened for 1st time

HR & CE Minister Sevoor S Ramachandran and Collector Sandeep Nanduri, who visited the site on Thursday, ordered opening of the dam paving way for immediate release of 6,000 mcft of water to reach 48 irrigation tanks in 4 taluks as the dam continued to receive heavy inflows.

An official who visited the dam with the Collector and Minister said, “it was scary to see the heavy water inflow into the reservoir from all directions and hence release of water was ordered though its level was only 57 feet against the FRL of 62.32 feet.”

Due to a faulty shutter, the dam had not been used till now. Recently, the shutter was repaired at a cost of Rs 17 crore. It may be recalled that farmers regularly complained about the reservoir not being used due to a faulty shutter which resulted in the contractor being fired and the then official engineers facing action.

Officials have been ordered to ensure that tom tom messages were issued in all habitations on the dam’s distribution channels so that people could move to safety. Officials said PWD officials have been ordered to keep watch on the dam’s water level to ensure that outflow was stopped once the inflow comes down. This would happen only when the rain stopped totally, an official said. Kuppanatham dam in same district had only 37.50 feet water against its FRL of 60 feet despite widespread rain.