KOLHAPUR: A 55-year-old woman and 11 cattle were washed away after an earthen dam of the Megholi minor irrigation project in Bhudargad tehsil of Kolhapur district burst on Wednesday night. A barrage and a bridge across the tributary of the Vedganga river were also damaged.
The dam, built in 2000, had a capacity of 2.79 million cubic feet. It served to irrigate over 350 hectare of farmland. Following the dam burst, crops in 150-200 hectare were estimated to be damaged.
Mahesh Surve, superintendent engineer of the Kolhapur irrigation circle, said the dam had developed leakages and a plan with a total outlay of Rs 2.5 crore for repairs had recently been approved. “Over the past few years, leakage points had been observed and some remedial measures were taken. The major repair work, however, was pending. We found that water pressure had caused the dam to burst. By 7 pm, some leakages were observed and we alerted the villagers living in tghe downstream areas. The dam suddenly burst between 10.15pm and 10.30pm.”
Surve said most habitations along the tributary are located on elevations and there was no direct threat to the lives of the villagers. However, after the alert was issued, Jijabai Mohite (55) rushed to rescue her cattle from the shed near the river bank and was caught in the flash flood. She was washed away.
Though there was only about 10mm rain prior to the incident on Wednesday, the region had received heavy rainfall in July and the dam was 100% full since then.
“We have given the task of finding the actual cause and events leading to the burst to the dam safety inspection division of our department. To ensure such incidents do not recur at other reservoirs, I have asked the engineers to get an audit done and initiate measures to overcome the shortcomings,” said Surve.
Kolhapur district collector Rahul Rekhawar paid a visit to the dam site and asked revenue authorities to inspect damage to lives and properties.
