The Covid-19 pandemic has turned into a hurdle to replace the three-decade-old crest gates of Krishnaraja Sagar (KRS) dam in Srirangapatna taluk, Mandya district.
The process of replacing all 134 gates of the reservoir is commissioned with the support of the World Bank, under the ‘Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project’ (DRIP) at a cost of Rs 59 crore.
The fabricating process had begun and it was approved by the Central Water Commission (CWC). Gujarat-based Hardware Tools Company, which had obtained the contract to replace the gates, had assured of completing the works in two years. The works have been suspended since March 2020 and the supply of industrial oxygen has been stopped. There is no supply of materials from West Bengal and Jaipur in Rajasthan and there is also shortage for man power and technology, said an officer.
Inevitable to replace
All the 48 automated crest gates that were installed when the dam was constructed are defunct and 40 other gates are operated using a single crane. It is difficult to open the gates, if the inflow increases to two lakh cusec or above. It is inevitable to replace the gates but, it is also not possible to replace them until next summer as a large quantum of water is being stored in the dam, said an officer.