Chhattisgarh govt issues advisory for opening dam gates

Chhattisgarh government has issued advisory to the district authorities for taking precaution while opening the gates of the dams, across the state.

The directives come in the wake of the incident in Himachal Pradesh where 24 engineering students were washed away in Beas river when the authorities opened the gates of a dam to feed a power project. Similarly, in Jharkhand, 10 boys had a miraculous escape after they were trapped in Damodar river when the floodgates were opened in Tenughat dam. The boys took shelter on a concrete platform and were rescued after nearly eight hours. "Taking lessons from both incidents, Chief Minister Raman Singh has strictly instructed the officials concerned to ensure that the gates of dams are not opened without prior alert," a state government spokesperson said. The instruction was given to the district authorities while reviewing the preparation to deal with the nature's fury during monsoon.

Singh asked the district collectors to make sure that the water resources department that operates the dams should intimate 12 hours in advance. Besides the villages in the low lying areas, the officials have been asked to inform the neighbouring states also if water was to be released in the river.