Sardar Sarovar Dam reaches record level, just 5 mtr short of upper limit

In a first, the water level in the Sardar Sarovar dam rose to 133 metres following heavy inflow of water from the upstream area.

With this, the dam is only five metress short of its upper limit of 138.68 metres. An official said that after touching the 133 138.68 metres level, the water level came down to 132 138.68 metres when 15 of the 30 gates were opened. The inflow of water was at 2.9 lakh cusec.

The dam which has the capacity to store 4.75 million acre-feet of water had its height increased from 121.92 metres to 138.68 metres after installation and closure of 30 gates in 2017.

Earlier chief minister Vijay Rupani had said that the state would fill it up cautiously and that it did not need the permission of the Narmada Command Authority for the same. He had also said that technical opinion will be sought before the dam is filled to the brim.

The dam supplies water to over 167 towns and 10,000 villages in the state. Earlier, on August 9, 26 of the 30 gates of Narmada Dam were opened after the water level rose to 131.5 metres following heavy rains in Madhya Pradesh and the catchment areas of Narmada.

It was the first time that the gates are being opened after they were installed in 2017 to allow for the release of excess water so as to maintain the water level at 131.18 metres. The dam has a storage capacity of 139 metres, but as per the Narmada Control Authority water in the dam can be filled only up to 131.18 metres.

Madhya Pradesh has raised an issue with the state planning to fill the dam up to the brim by closing the gates as it will affect thousands in the state due to a rise in water level.