An engineer of the Water Resources Department, on Wednesday, stressed the need for the removal of bamboo grown along the saddle dam of Bhadra reservoir near Umblebailu in Thirthahalli taluk, to avoid a major disaster in the coming days.
Making his submission during a review meeting chaired by Education Minister Madhu Bangarappa, who is also Minister in-charge of Shivamogga district, N. Ravi Kumar, Assistant Executive Engineer, said bamboo grown along the saddle caused minor leakages. “It needs to be cleared at the earliest. If neglected, it may cause heavy damage to the structure, leading to the loss of over 12 tmcft of water”, said the official in-charge of Bhadra dam.
The officer said the Forest Department was not allowing the removal of bamboo as the area belonged to the Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary. “We have approached the Forest Department officials on this issue. They are not allowing us to clear it. If they do not allow us to clear it, let them do it in the interest of the safety of the structure”, he said.
Mr. Madhu Bangarappa said the matter should be addressed at the earliest. He personally would talk to the senior officers in the Forest Department and get it done, he said.
Later, speaking to The Hindu, the engineer said that bamboo grown would gradually impact the structure (saddle). “I am not telling that the main dam will breach. However, the saddle dam will get damaged slowly. And, if it breaches a huge quantity of water will go waste, resulting in a disaster”, he said.
When The Hindu contacted Upendra Pratap Singh, Chief Conservator of Forests of Chikkamagaluru, the officer said he was not aware of the issue as he took charge of the post only a few days ago. “The letter correspondence on this issue must have been done earlier. However, as per knowledge of forestry, bamboo, actually, binds soil. I don’t know how it affects the dam. I will look into the issue”, he said.
