Officials lift 10 radial gates of Lower Manair Dam

KARIMNAGAR: Following inflows from the Mid Manair Reservoir and catchment areas such as Moyatummeda Vagu into the Lower Manair Dam (LMD), irrigation authorities on Saturday lifted 10 radial gates of the LMD, discharging about 20,000 cusecs into the Manair. Initially, four gates were opened in the morning, and the outflow increased gradually by lifting 10 gates by afternoon. LMD is receiving about 30,000 cusecs of water (about 17,000 from MMD and the remaining from Moyatummeda).

“We are trying to maintain water levels by releasing excess water downstream,” said LMD Superintendent Engineer P Shiva Kumar. Presently, LMD reservoir storage is 21.50 tmcft as against the full capacity of 24.07 tmcft.Collector RV Karnan said the villages on the banks of the Manair river have been alerted by the revenue officials. Villagers, fishermen and cattle grazers should be cautious, he said, adding that special teams have been formed to caution people round the clock.

Meanwhile, people who got the news about the dam gates being lifted through social media started reaching the project in large numbers to catch a glimpse of nature’s beauty. Police made arrangements by deploying additional forces to avoid any untoward incidents. Barricades have been placed on the dam to prevent people from venturing too close to the gates. Meanwhile, the Kothapalli local tank has started overflowing from the spillway due to continuous rain since Friday midnight.