All 22 spillway gates of Nagarjunasagar lifted

Nagarjunasagar Dam releases record-breaking floodwaters, impacting downstream projects and prompting increased discharge from Srisailam Dam.

The discharge of flood from the spillway of Nagarjunasagar Dam continued for the second day on Tuesday in the increased volume, as the project engineers were letting out 3.08 lakh cusecs water from 22 crest gates lifted for 10 feet height each as at 9 p.m.

Sixteen spillway gates were lifted till 6 p.m. on Monday to discharge a flood of about 1.2 lakh cusecs, but four more gates were lifted for 5 feet height each around 10 p.m. to increase the discharge to 1.51 lakh cusecs. The flood discharge was further increased to 1.77 lakh cusecs in the early hours of Tuesday as the flood vent for four of the 20 gates lifted was increased to 10 feet height each and continued till 9 a.m.

According to the project engineers, the flood discharge was increased to 2.71 lakh cusecs by lifting two more gates around 9 a.m. on Tuesday taking the total to 22 with 16 gates lifted for 10 feet height each and another six for 5 feet height each. It was further increased to 2.97 lakh cusecs by noon with 20 gates lifted for 10 feet height each and two for 5 feet height each.

By 2 p.m. all the 22 gates were lifted for 10 feet height each to increase the flood discharge to over 3.08 lakh cusecs. The inflow at 9 p.m. was recorded at 3.54 lakh cusecs. Another 28,200 cusecs too was being let into river after power generation and drawal of water by canal systems of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana was continuing at over 18,000 cusecs.

With flood from Nagarjunasagar reaching it, the storage of Pulichintala project in the downstream reached 22.75 tmcft against its full capacity of 45.77 tmcft as at 6 p.m. on Tuesday with about 1.09 lakh cusecs being discharged from it from the spillway and after power generation.

In the upstream, the discharge of flood from the spillway of Srisailam Dam was 3.12 lakh cusecs from 10 gates lifted for 12 feet height each. Another 60,200 cusecs was also being let into river with power generation by AP and Telangana. Drawal of over 28,000 cusecs was also on from the canal systems of AP an TG as the project was getting over 3.71 lakh cusecs flood.

At Jurala, the discharge of flood was nearly 2.45 lakhs cusecs from the spillway and after power generation with canal over 3,500 cusecs of drawals by canals.