Sharing waters: On the Tungabhadra model

The coming together of the Chief Ministers of Karnataka (D.K. Shivakumar) , Telangana (A. Revanth Reddy) and Andhra Pradesh (N. Chandrababu Naidu), along with Union Jal Shakti Minister C.R. Patil, at the inauguration of the 33 spillway gates of the Tungabhadra dam on June 25 was significant beyond the optics. The three leaders pledged greater inter-State cooperation, which is welcome given that the dam has largely remained free of major disputes due to an established water-sharing formula and the Tungabhadra Board’s regulation of releases. Located in Karnataka’s Koppal district, the dam is considered to be the lifeline of the three southern States, providing irrigation to about 16.4 lakh acres — 9.26 lakh in Karnataka, 6.25 lakh in Andhra Pradesh, and 87,000 in Telangana. It hit the headlines in August 2024 when a crest gate was washed away during heavy inflows — which also happened when the dam was full with 105 thousand million cubic feet (tmc ft) of water. The damaged gate was replaced with a temporary one, but with much water wasted, the authorities, who did not want to take chances with the other 32 gates, chose to install high-grade steel gates, at ₹51 crore and which are expected to last 60 years.