<p class="bodytext">When Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah recently raised the alarm on dam safety, he was not just flagging an engineering concern. He was reframing the issue as one of national security, federal responsibility, and public trust. Speaking at the International Conference on Dam Safety (ICDS) in Bengaluru, the Chief Minister placed ageing dams at the centre of India’s infrastructure risk debate. The numbers justify the concern. According to a UN report, India has over 6,600 specified dams, making it the world’s third-largest dam-owning nation. Of these, about 1,100 are already over 50 years old, and more than 220 have crossed the 100-year mark. By 2050, nearly 80% of India’s large dams will be past their intended design life. Karnataka alone has 231 specified dams. Nearly 70% of them are over 25 years old, while over 40 major structures are already past the 50-year threshold. Icons such as Vani Vilasa Sagar (119 years), Krishna Raja Sagar (95 years), and Tungabhadra (73 years) underline both the state’s engineering legacy and its present vulnerability.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The dams face four interlinked dangers. First, structural fatigue and ageing of mechanical systems such as gates and hoists, many of which were designed for a 50-year life. This risk was starkly illustrated in 2024 at the Tungabhadra Dam, where a crest gate was washed away after a chain link snapped. Second, reservoir sedimentation has robbed older dams of significant storage capacity, reducing their ability to manage floods or droughts. Third, climate variability, where extreme rainfall routinely exceeds the assumptions under which these dams were originally designed. Fourth, a more contemporary risk of cybersecurity, where as dams adopt digital controls and automated gates, they become potential targets for technological sabotage. The Chief Minister’s emphasis on cooperative federalism was equally pointed – he called for shared safety standards across river basins. This was coupled with a push to replace episodic, manual inspections with continuous digital monitoring, including real-time dashboards, remote sensing, and structural health systems.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Systematic monitoring, scheduled modernisation, climate-resilient redesign, and credible emergency action plans for downstream communities should be non-negotiable. This must begin with a nationwide audit of all specified dams without waiting for a catastrophe. This necessitates that the Centre and states act as partners, moving beyond jurisdiction-based friction to embrace a model of cooperative federalism where safety standards are unified across river basins. Dams were once called the temples of modern India. As they age, maintaining them safely is no longer just about irrigation or power, but also about safeguarding lives and livelihoods.</p>
<p class="bodytext">When Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah recently raised the alarm on dam safety, he was not just flagging an engineering concern. He was reframing the issue as one of national security, federal responsibility, and public trust. Speaking at the International Conference on Dam Safety (ICDS) in Bengaluru, the Chief Minister placed ageing dams at the centre of India’s infrastructure risk debate. The numbers justify the concern. According to a UN report, India has over 6,600 specified dams, making it the world’s third-largest dam-owning nation. Of these, about 1,100 are already over 50 years old, and more than 220 have crossed the 100-year mark. By 2050, nearly 80% of India’s large dams will be past their intended design life. Karnataka alone has 231 specified dams. Nearly 70% of them are over 25 years old, while over 40 major structures are already past the 50-year threshold. Icons such as Vani Vilasa Sagar (119 years), Krishna Raja Sagar (95 years), and Tungabhadra (73 years) underline both the state’s engineering legacy and its present vulnerability.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The dams face four interlinked dangers. First, structural fatigue and ageing of mechanical systems such as gates and hoists, many of which were designed for a 50-year life. This risk was starkly illustrated in 2024 at the Tungabhadra Dam, where a crest gate was washed away after a chain link snapped. Second, reservoir sedimentation has robbed older dams of significant storage capacity, reducing their ability to manage floods or droughts. Third, climate variability, where extreme rainfall routinely exceeds the assumptions under which these dams were originally designed. Fourth, a more contemporary risk of cybersecurity, where as dams adopt digital controls and automated gates, they become potential targets for technological sabotage. The Chief Minister’s emphasis on cooperative federalism was equally pointed – he called for shared safety standards across river basins. This was coupled with a push to replace episodic, manual inspections with continuous digital monitoring, including real-time dashboards, remote sensing, and structural health systems.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Systematic monitoring, scheduled modernisation, climate-resilient redesign, and credible emergency action plans for downstream communities should be non-negotiable. This must begin with a nationwide audit of all specified dams without waiting for a catastrophe. This necessitates that the Centre and states act as partners, moving beyond jurisdiction-based friction to embrace a model of cooperative federalism where safety standards are unified across river basins. Dams were once called the temples of modern India. As they age, maintaining them safely is no longer just about irrigation or power, but also about safeguarding lives and livelihoods.</p>
