From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru

Bengaluru, Jun 6: In order to save loss of over 32 tmcft of water due to accumulation of silt at the Tungabhadra reservoir, the State government has decided to build a balancing reservoir near Navile, in the downstream of the Tungabhadra river.

Karnataka’s Water Resources Minister M.B. Patil gave the information on constructing the balancing reservoir at Navile in the Legislative Assembly on Tuesday.

A detailed project report for constructing a balancing reservoir for Tungabhadra Dam to offset the reduction in storage capacity of the Tungabhadra dam due to accumulation of silt.

Intervening during the reply on the drought situation in Karnataka, Minister for Water Resources M B Patil told the Legislative Assembly on Monday that the proposal would be placed before the inter-state Tungabhadra Board for approval.

Patil said the storage capacity of the TB dam has reduced by 32 tmcft due to accumulation of silt over the past six decades and rejected the suggestion for de-siltation as not feasible.

The quantum of silt accumulated in the reservoir would spread over 77,000 acres for a height of 10ft if it is removed and dumped elsewhere, he said.

The proposed reservoir would come up downstream of the TB dam at Navile with a storage capacity of about 40 tmcft and is estimated to cost about Rs 5600 crore, the minister said.

The minister assured that the state government would provide all assistance for the farmers who have started a voluntary drive to remove silt from the dry bed of the dam on a limited scale.

The cost of the proposed balancing reservoir will be around Rs 500 crore and about 16,000 acres of land which is available in the proposed dam site has also been identified, he said.