VIJAYAWADA: In an incident that may point fingers at the quality of masonry, one of the gates of the prestigious Pulichintala project across Krishna River was washed away in the early hours of Thursday.
The mishap occurred while the irrigation officials were lifting the gates of the dam to allow excess flood discharge downstream into Prakasam Barrage. However, no loss of life has been reported but officials sounded a high flood alert along the river banks and evacuated people living in lowlying areas.
The state government has ordered an inquiry by a high-level panel to find out the exact reason for the mishap. Senior irrigation officials said they had never come across an incident wherein a huge dam gate was washed away though the discharge was minimal. However, there have been instances of gates being jammed due to rust or bent under the impact of heavy discharge. Cracks can be seen on the concrete structure that held the washed away gate. It is not clear if the cracks appeared under the impact of the gate being washed away or the gate got detached due to the cracks.
According to officials, the gate no 16 was washed away after the supporting ropes broke. The incident occurred while the dam gates were being lifted at around 3.30 am on Thursday.
