Desiliting TB dam is not practicable: Patil

Water Resources Minister M B Patil has said it is possible but not practicable to desilt the Tungabhadra dam, which has about 37 tmcft silt deposition.

He was replying to a host of questions in the Assembly on Monday, on the silt problem in the dam which has reduced the impounding capacity.

Pratapgouda Patil (Cong) asked the minister whether the government was aware of farmers desilting the dam.

While saying he is aware, Patil said by the ongoing desilting not even one tmcft of additional water could be stored. The dam was built in 1953 and the impounding capacity was 132.48 tmcft. “The siltation was about 100.86 tmcft as per a survey conducted in 2008. To deposit the silt, at least 67,984 acres would be required. Earlier efforts to get private firms to remove silt did not materialise.”

Patil said as an alternative to desilting, the plan is to build a reservoir in Navali by spending Rs 5,600 crore to store 40 tmcft of water. A detailed project report is ready and the same would be placed before the Tungabhadra Board. As the Tungabhadra dam is an inter-state project, the approval of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana is required, he added.

K B Prasanna Kumar, Congress MLA from Shivamogga, thanked M B Patil for conducting Parjanya homa to invoke the blessings of rain god.

“Because you conducted the homa, Shivamogga has been receiving good rains,”  he said.

Immediately BJP MLA C T Ravi told the minister, “If you had the capacity to get rains by doing homa, then you should have done it a year ago to avoid drought in the state.”