Three gates of Srisailam dam opened

Hyderabad: The irrigation department officials opened three gates of Srisailam dam up to 10 feet high and released water downstream.

Before opening the two gates, Andhra Pradesh Irrigation Minister Ambati Rambabu performed puja to Goddess Gangamma. As much as 1.39 lakh cusecs of water released from Srisailam dam would reach Nagarjuna Sagar Project (NSP) in Nalgonda district.

The Minister and officials opened gate number five, six and seven to release water. The dam is presently receiving 1.27 lakh cusecs of inflows from Priyadarshini Jurala project and Sunkesula barrage while the outflows were 1.39 lakh cusecs of water.

As against its Full Reservoir Level (FRL) of 885 ft, the water levels in Srisailam dam reached over 882.50 ft. Officials said the inflows to the dam started dipping at 11.40 am on Saturday.

Villagers residing near the dam and devotees heading towards famous Sri Bhramaramba Mallikarjuna Swamy Varla Devasthanam in Srisailam stopped on the ghat road and viewed the water gushing out of the dam through the gates.

Officials cautioned the villagers residing near the dam not to visit the downstream areas because of heavy discharge of water.