Expert team assesses safety of Sathanur Dam in Tiruvannamalai during monsoon

An expert team from the Water Resources Department inspect the canals, spillway gates, and other structural aspects of the dam.

An expert team of Comprehensive Dam Safety Evaluation (CDSE) Committee of Water Resources Department (WRD) has conducted a detailed structural and safety inspection of the Sathanur Dam in Tiruvannamalai on Wednesday.

WRD officials said that as per norms under the National Dam Safety Act 2021, an expert team should inspect major dams in the State at least once a decade to assess safety features. “Such an inspection by technical experts helps make corrections in the structure and operation of the dam as part of enhancing the safety of the facility,” N. Santhosh, Assistant Engineer, WRD (Sathanur Dam), told The Hindu.

The team was led by A.K. Bajaj, former Chairman, Central Water Commission. Other members of the team included R. Srinivasan, former Deputy Director General, Geological Survey of India, K. Padmanaban and R. Selvam, retired Chief Engineers, WRD, and R. Tamil Selvan, Superintending Engineer, WRD, Pennaiyar Basin Circle.

WRD officials said that the team inspected shutters, earthen structures, Left and Right Canals, dam body, spillway gates, hydro-mechanical components, and appurtenant structures. They also interacted with on-site engineers, including E. Arivazhagan, Executive Engineer, and E. Rajaraman, Assistant Executive Engineer, of WRD.

WRD officials said that among 20 major dams in the State, Sathanur dam is the third largest after Mettur and Bhavani Sagar, in terms of storage capacity and height. At present, the dam has water storage of 3,769 mcft (51.48%) as against a total storage capacity of 7,321 mcft of water.

WRD officials said that every year, 4 tmc of water is stored in the dam for irrigation. While water from the dam’s Left Bank Canal feeds 30 tanks in Tiruvannamalai and 10 in Villupuram, the Right Bank Canal is connected to 48 tanks in Villupuram.