16 gates of Jayakwadi dam opened, discharge at 35-K cusec

With heavy rainfall in neighbouring Nashik district over the last two days, 16 out of the total 27 gates of the Jayakwadi dam in Aurangabad district have been opened and 35,632 cusec water was being released into the Godavari river, an official said on Thursday.

On Wednesday, four gates of the Jayakwadi dam, one of the biggest dams in the state known as the lifeline of Marathwada region, had been opened to discharge excess water into the Godavari river.

"However, as heavy rains continued to lash Nashik, 12 more gates were opened on Thursday to release additional water. The total discharge on Thursday stands at 35,632 cusec," Gajanan More, control room officer of the Jayakwadi dam, told PTI.

"Due to heavy rains in Nashik, the total inflow of water into the dam is 36,125 cusec. As the dam's water storage reached its maximum capacity, the discharge from the dam was 1,048 cusec from four gates on Wednesday," he said.

But in order to maintain the water level, 12 more gates were lifted up to 24 inches around 12.30 pm on Thursday, the official said, adding that the water discharge may go up further if the inflow increases.