Telangana’s Jurala project faces serious maintenance issues as Krishna inflows surge

Jurala Project on the Krishna river faces serious maintenance issues with damaged crest gates amid surging inflows. Delays in repairs, reduced storage due to siltation, and rising water levels have sparked concern over the dam's flood-handling capability

Hyderabad: The Priyadarshini Jurala Project, a key irrigation and hydropower facility on the Krishna river, is facing serious maintenance issues at a time when inflows into the reservoir are rising rapidly.

The operational efficiency and flood management capabilities of the project have come under scrutiny, with persistent problems affecting several of its crest gates.

Of the 62 crest gates designed to regulate floodwaters, eight were in disrepair as of last month, suffering from broken rope cables and missing rubber seals. This has led to continuous water leakage downstream, compromising the dam’s ability to manage water levels effectively.

Inflows, recorded at 53,000 cusecs on Wednesday, surged to 1 lakh cusecs by Thursday morning. Notably, gate number 9, previously not listed among the faulty gates, also developed issues after its rope cables loosened, further complicating dam operations.

While tenders were issued earlier this year to address the faulty gates and repair work began in the first week of May, the contractor managed to fix only four of the eight damaged gates.

A proposed Rs 11 crore repair programme remains incomplete due to delays, reportedly caused by the limited availability of qualified contractors. Only three firms in the State are equipped to handle such specialised repairs, and all are overburdened.

The early arrival of monsoon inflows to the Krishna basin projects, particularly Jurala, in the second week of June has intensified the situation. Despite warnings and repeated urging from dam authorities, the incomplete repair work now poses risks as water levels continue to rise.

Adding to the concern is the dam’s declining storage capacity. Due to siltation, the gross storage has reduced from the original 11.94 TMC (thousand million cubic feet) to just 9.66 TMC, reducing its flood-handling buffer.

Superintending Engineer F Raheemuddin assured that the dam’s core structure remains sound and that, even if the remaining four gates are not repaired in time, Jurala can safely manage floodwaters of up to 10 lakh cusecs.

However, a senior engineer at the State headquarters admitted the seriousness of the issue. “The maintenance delays are concerning, but we are working to address them as quickly as possible,” he said.