Guj:Sardar Sarovar Dam water level crosses 136 m, alert issued

The Gujarat government has issued an alert for villages along the banks of the Narmada river after the water level in the Sardar Sarovar Dam crossed 136 metres, the highest since its height was raised to 138 metres in 2017, due to heavy rains.

With the rise in the water level, which now stands at 136.21 metres, authorities have opened 23 of total 30 gates of the mega dam.

The Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Limited's (SSNNL's) control room informed that the dam was getting 6.47 lakh cusec (cubic foot per second) of water of which a dominant 6.16 lakh cusec was being released into the river by opening 23 of the 30 gates of the structure.

The flood warning, issued by the SSNNL on Sunday night, asked residents of villages along the banks of the river in Narmada, Vadodara and Bharuch districts, as well as the authorities, to be alert as inflow of water into the river may cause it to breach its banks.

The Sardar Sarovar Dam, with around 4,933 million cubic metres of water, is almost 91 per cent full, according to a state government release.

Narmada district collector I K Patel on Monday issued a circular asking district officials to remain alert and take precautionary steps to ensure no untoward incident takes place due to the rise in the water level of the river.

Gujarat has so far received 109.99 per cent of its annual average rainfall, with 22 of the total 33 districts receiving 100 per cent rainfall, the release said.

Of the 204 reservoirs in the state, 72 are overflowing while another 62 have the water storage between 70 to 100 per cent.