Madhya Pradesh dam breach: NDRF and IAF arrived on the spot
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Dhar: After a breach was spotted in the wall of an under-construction dam on the Karam river, teams of the Indian Army and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) arrived on the spot. Two helicopters of the Indian Air Force are also on standby to take charge of any emergency situation.
The 590-meter-long and 52-meter-high dam, a medium-level irrigation project, has 15 million cubic meter (MCM) of water in its reservoir. The dam was filling up with water for the first time this monsoon. It was under construction until now. The leakage was first reported around 1 pm on Thursday.
The government said the water is being safely drained out from the reservoir to reduce pressure on the wall. The authorities evacuated 12 villages in the Dhar district and six villages in Khargone district as a precautionary measure. These settlements were downstream of the dam.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led state government had quoted Rs 304 crore for the project and Rs 174 crore has already been spent. The opposition Congress has questioned the quality of the dam and alleged corruption.
Congress MLA Dr Hiralal Alawa, who represents the Manawar Assembly constituency in Dhar alleged that the dam has a weak foundation as the result of corruption. "The feeble foundation couldn't withstand the pressure of water. The leak smacks of rampant corruption in dam construction which has put the lives of more than 26,000 people living downstream to danger."
State Water Resources Minister Tulsi Silawat said the situation at the dam is under complete control as the Army and NDRF have started work. The official statement said Silwat is also at the site to monitor the activities. Industries Minister Rajvardhan Singh Dattigaon is also at the dam site.
"Around 200 army personnel, including engineers, and three teams of the NDRF from Bhopal as well as from Gujarat's Vadodara Surat have reached Dhar. Each team has around 30 to 35 members. Besides them, eight groups of the State Disaster Emergency Response Force (SDERF) are at work in Dhar," said official sources to PTI.
