The heavy inflow of water has forced the Tenughat Dam management to open six more gates to release excess water. Tenughat dam authorities have opened six of the 10 radial sluice gates built on Damodar river,releasing water into the river flowing between Jharkhand and Bengal in the last 48 hours.
Pankaj Kumar, Assistant Engineer of Tenughat dam flood control cell, said apart from informing the Bokaro administration, messages have also been conveyed related to Dhanbad administration and the West Bengal government.
According to reports due to continuous heavy rains for three days, the Damodar river is in spate in the border of Bokaro district, which is called the lifeline of Koylanchal. Here four more gates of the dam were opened due to increase in the water level of Tenughat dam.While two gates were opened earlier from the east side of the dam.
Kumar said that six gates of Tenughat dam were opened due to increase in water level of Tenughat dam due to intermittent torrential rains since the last three days.
Due to the continuous heavy rain in the district for the last three days, six radial gates of Tenughat Dam were opened, in which 90308 cusecs of water per second is being discharged into the Damodar river, in view of the ever-increasing water level.
The Tenughat management also has issued a warning for a sudden increase in the water levels of the Damodar river in Bokaro and Dhanbad districts.
The district administration has issued a high alert appealing to the people to be alert,said Assistant Engineer, Tenughat Dam Division, Pankaj Kumar.
He further said that the water holding capacity in Tenughat Dam is 852 feet whereas at present the water level in Tenughat Dam is 861.5 feet. Block Development Officer Bermo Madhu Kumari has sent a voice message appealing to people to be careful. She said that six gates of the dam have been opened due to the rise in the water level of Tenughat dam, which can put people living on the banks of the river in danger.
She said that after the opening of the Tenughat dam, a large amount of water is flowing in its lower part, due to which there is a danger of water entering many villages along the river. In view of the above possibility, the district administration has also alerted all the block level officials and panchayat representatives. Along with this, patrolling is also being done continuously around the rivers. The district administration is continuously monitoring from the district control room so that there is no danger of any kind,added Madhu Kumari.
It should be known that there are 18 gates in Tenughat Dam, in which 10 radial and 8 under Sluice gates have been installed. Also Tenughat Dam is the largest earthen dam in Asia continent. The water of this dam is supplied to the steel plant built in Bokaro and the water of this dam is also supplied to the entire city of Bokaro.