Jurala dam repair works halted amid surging inflows

Repairs to Jurala’s crest gates have been halted due to rising inflows, with work postponed until late 2025. Reduced capacity, traffic pressure, equipment failure, and lack of specialised repair support have added to the operational challenges at the project.

Hyderabad: Surging inflows into the Jurala Project have brought crest gate repair works to a standstill, forcing officials to defer the pending repairs by at least four to five months. Draining the reservoir, which is currently at 7.5 TMC, is not feasible due to the storage needs and ongoing monsoon inflows, officials said.

Siltation has severely impacted the dam’s capacity, reducing it from its original 11.94 TMC (thousand million cubic feet) to 9.66 TMC, a 19% loss in gross storage. The accumulation of sediment has weakened the dam’s flood-handling buffer, complicating monsoon water management.

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Five of the dam’s 62 crest gates remain non-functional due to damaged ropes and worn-out parts. Repair work, which began in May at an estimated cost of Rs.11 lakh per gate, was abruptly halted due to rising water levels, which made it impossible to create the dry working environment required for repairs.

Irrigation department officials stated that repairs can resume only after November 2025, when water levels are expected to drop. Currently, nine crest gates are open, releasing 31,380 cusecs through the spillway, with an equal volume being diverted to the hydropower station.

The project’s dual use as a roadway has added to the strain. Heavy vehicles, including sand tippers and buses, continue to ply across the structure as there is no alternate route. Despite repeated warnings from the National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA) about the risks to the dam’s structural integrity, authorities have been unable to restrict traffic.

On Tuesday, the State government sanctioned Rs. 120 crore, for the construction of a low-level bridge to divert vehicular movement. However, the bridge is still in the planning stage, and officials estimate it will take at least two more years before the Jurala structure is relieved of traffic pressure.

Further compounding the situation is a malfunctioning gantry crane and the absence of specialised repair firms within Telangana, which have together delayed crucial maintenance work on the dam.